About Me                                          Clyde

My name is Clyde Rice and I am a pre-kindergarten teacher at Northwood Elementary IB World School in High Point, North Carolina.  I have been teaching pre-kindergarten for nine years, but I was a kindergarten teacher for over nine years and a second-grade teacher for three months before moving down to the four-year-olds. 

I graduated from UNCG in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education.  In 1999, I earned my National Board Certification (and have since renewed it).  In 2001, I completed coursework through a collaboration with High Point University and Guilford County Schools that qualified me to be a teacher of the academically gifted.  In 2003, I completed coursework at UNCG to add “birth-to-kindergarten” certification to my teaching license. 

In the fall of 2008, after earning my National Board Certification renewal, a parent I knew asked me if I would consider tutoring his son in reading.  I had only spent a few months in second grade during my career and I was really unsure if I was up to the task, since my teaching experience had been basically confined to pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.  I needed the money, however, and I told him I would agree to it.  As I began to work with this student, I realized that I was probably not the best choice for being his tutor.  While I do think I made a difference with the child, I think so much more could have been done with him if I had known more about the reading process and how to work with him effectively.

Approximately a month after these tutoring sessions ended, I saw a flyer in my school’s teacher’s lounge advertising an interest meeting for those considering getting a master’s degree in reading education.  Because of my experience with tutoring that student and my desire to know more of what I could have done to help him, I decided to attend the meeting.  That meeting resulted in my entrance into the reading program at Appalachian.

My interests outside of school are somewhat varied.  I really enjoy traveling and I have been many different places, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, China, and Mexico.  One of my goals is to go to all 50 states here in the United States.  Currently, I have been to 37 (and am hoping to make it to a few more this summer).  Another interest is collecting anything that has to do with hippos.  I currently have over 200 hippo items, many of which were collected from places I’ve been or from former students.  I enjoy reading, especially fiction.  One of my newest finds is Jodi Picoult.  She takes some really current topics and manages to weave them into her novels.  Lastly, I enjoy doing work with a local organization called GSAFE, which stands for Gay, Straight Advocates For Education.  I am on the board of this organization and I am in charge of public programs.  This organization works to make sure schools are safe places for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) students and faculty.


Contact Me

5236 Hilltop Road
Jamestown, NC  27282
(336) 988-5901
[email protected]
[email protected]