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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Homewood Teacher of the Year
Josh Donaldson, left, helps Blakley Glover learn about photosynthesis in Donaldson’s AP Biology class. Donaldson, who also coaches cross-country and track and field, was named Homewood High School’s 2020-21 Teacher of the Year.
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Photo courtesy of Tom Esslinger.
Josh Donaldson, left, and Tom Esslinger have won 29 state championships in cross-country and track and field at Homewood High School. Donaldson was an athlete on Esslinger’s first title team in 2006 before joining the staff in 2012.
Surprises have never been Josh Donaldson’s cup of tea. Rather, the eighth-year science teacher at Homewood High School prefers to know what’s coming and prepare accordingly.
But Donaldson made an exception in early November when administrators unexpectedly walked into his classroom to tell him he was the school’s 2020-21 Teacher of the Year.
“With all the great teachers here at Homewood High School, I didn’t necessarily think that I would get it this year,” Donaldson said. “I was definitely honored and humbled by getting it, and, I mean, just thankful and grateful to everyone who’s been an influence on me as a teacher and as a person.”
Donaldson teaches Advanced Placement Biology and coaches cross-country and track and field at the high school. He has excelled in both endeavors.
A week after learning he was Teacher of the Year, Donaldson’s boys and girls cross-country teams swept the Class 6A state titles for a second consecutive season.
“Over the last two years, there’s a reason these two girls teams and these two boys teams are the best we’ve ever had,” said Tom Esslinger, Homewood’s director of cross-country and track and field, “and I think that’s a tribute to him as well.”
Esslinger has known Donaldson since Donaldson was a Homewood student himself. Esslinger taught his sophomore history class and coached him as a distance runner. Donaldson, a 2008 graduate, contributed to Esslinger’s first state championship team in 2006.
Together, they have coached 28 more.
“The same things that made him great as a student make him great now, and he’s such a detail-oriented person,” Esslinger said. “But more importantly, he just goes above and beyond in everything he does.”
Donaldson didn’t foresee a career in education when he departed Homewood for the University of Alabama. He thought he would follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, a doctor, and his mother, a nurse, and enter the medical field.
That’s why he majored in biology and math in Tuscaloosa.
But Donaldson ended up choosing the career path of his father, Steve, a longtime professor at Samford University.
“Teaching was not on my radar,” Donaldson said, “but I’m glad it fell onto my radar.”
Donaldson maintained ties with his old school during college, returning home to help direct track meets. Once he graduated from Alabama in 2012, he decided to apply for an open position in the high school’s science department.
He landed it.
“My first day in the classroom was my first day ever in a classroom — no student teaching,” Donaldson said. “I actually did my student teaching my third year of teaching, when I had to do my student teaching for grad school classes.”
Donaldson adapted on the fly.
He drew from his experience as a student and relied on guidance from his peers as he developed his pedagogy. It didn’t take him long to discover that building relationships with his students was the key to unlocking their potential.
“Josh’s students respect him and seek his advice about their lives and future plans,” said Esslinger’s wife, HHS Assistant Principal Amanda Esslinger. “The relationships that Josh builds with his students allow him to teach them the important concepts of his class and lessons that will last long after they leave his class.”
Donaldson taught anatomy and physiology, environmental science and freshman biology at the outset of his teaching career. Now, he works primarily with juniors and seniors who enroll in AP Biology. Amanda Esslinger said enrollment in the course has more than quadrupled since Donaldson began teaching it.
“AP Bio is hard, but Coach D, as his students call him, makes it fun, engaging and accessible,” she said. “He designs activities that make the students understand the concepts instead of just knowing it for a test.”
Although he teaches an upper-level course, Donaldson still impacts Homewood underclassmen through athletics. He was an assistant cross-country coach from 2012-17 before assuming the lead role in 2018. During the winter and spring, he is an associate head coach for the track and field teams.
And that’s not all he juggles. Since starting at Homewood, Donaldson has earned two advanced degrees and serves as a class sponsor for the Student Government Association, among other professional engagements.
Tom Esslinger said Donaldson’s intelligence and work ethic set him apart.
“He just kind of goes the extra mile,” Esslinger said. “I know that’s cliche, but he goes above and beyond what’s expected of him really in all aspects of life … he just does more, and he cares about doing it right.”
Donaldson doesn’t take it for granted that he gets to teach and coach at his alma mater. He’s worked diligently to reach this point, and he knows he wouldn’t be where he is today without the help of others.
“When you find something that you love doing, then it does make it easy to do everything,” Donaldson said, “and I don’t like not being busy.”
Donaldson was one of five Homewood City Schools Teachers of the Year. The others are Edgewood Elementary’s Christen Swope, Hall-Kent Elementary’s Leigh Ellen Herring, Shades Cahaba Elementary’s Jenny Phillips and Homewood Middle’s Darby Baird.
In January, one elementary and one secondary teacher will be selected to represent the school system in the state’s Teacher of the Year competition.