Teacher of the year at Douglas County middle school dies weeks after car wreck

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — Earlier this month, the Douglas County community was celebrating Priscilla Marshall on being selected teacher of the year at the middle school she served for more than a decade.

Now, they are mourning her loss. Marshall, 63, died last week from injuries she sustained in a car accident.

The seventh grade teacher was voted the 2019-2020 teacher of the year by her peers at Turner Middle School. Every school day for 13 years, Marshall traveled from her home in Anniston, Alabama, to the school in Lithia Springs. She had been an educator for more than four decades, beginning her career in 1977 in Alabama.

"Dr. Priscilla Marshall was a woman of great service and leadership who was respected by all staff members," Turner Principal Darron Franklin said in a statement. "Her suggestions and directions were always enthusiastically received by her colleagues at Turner, and she will be greatly missed by everyone."

Marshall earned her doctoral degree from the University of Phoenix last year. At Turner, she taught in the classroom and served as a team leader.

School leaders described her as an innovator who offered advice and seasoned wisdom to new teachers throughout her tenure.

In her bio submitted as part of the teacher of the year award selection process, Marshall said she made it a priority "to share love beyond her teaching assignment with all students to ensure that they are safe and have a sense of belonging in school."

Marshall was involved in a car accident in Anniston on Sept. 20, according to school district officials. She was taken to Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center, where she died Oct. 13. Her funeral was Saturday in her hometown.

Details about the car accident have not been released.

Marshall was among the 35 school-level award winners recognized at a banquet Oct. 3, although she was not in attendance.

"All of us in the Douglas County School System are deeply saddened by the loss of Dr. Marshall," Superintendent Trent North said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to her personal family in Alabama as well as her school family. ... The positive impact she made will live on through the young lives she impacted."

This article was written by Chelsea Prince with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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