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Life-Saving Teacher is January GCS Employee of the Month
Jan. 8, 2020 – Monday, Dec. 2, was an ordinary day for most of the students and staff at Gibsonville Elementary. When Drew Simpson saved the life of a child who was choking, it became extraordinary.
Simpson, a fourth-grade teacher with 15 years of experience, is a trained first responder because of his coaching duties at Northeast High. So when a child began choking in the cafeteria, he went into action, performing the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge the food. The child began breathing again and the call to 911 was cancelled.
Principal Jessica Bohn nominated Simpson following that event, but she is quick to point out that his impact on Gibsonville Elementary goes far beyond a single incident.
“Mr. Simpson is also an excellent reading teacher who connects with his students and holds them to high expectations,” Bohn wrote in her nomination. “Not only that, but this teacher is a coach for Northeast High, serves as a male mentor and helps lead our positive behavior and classroom management efforts.”
Simpson received a $50 gift card to Sam’s Club, which has given nearly $9,000 to outstanding GCS employees since 2005. During the month of January, his photo will hang at the district’s central office, at Gibsonville Elementary and at the Sam’s Club on Wendover Avenue.