For the Coffee Press’ January Teacher Feature, the staff selected Criminal Justice teacher Mr. Tobey Alonso. The submissions received on Mr. Alonso’s behalf highlighted his skill with teaching and his relationships with his students.

“Alonso makes class so fun! He makes students interact in the lesson, which helps us learn the material! He is also so kind to his students.”

“He is always making sure [his] students are okay and having a good day. He tries to have a good relationship with his students so they feel like they can talk to him when they have problems. He also loves his job and teaches in a way that is actually effective on his students’ learning.”

“Alonso is an outstanding teacher. Even though it’s first period he makes sure to keep a smile on his face and keep his class interesting and entertaining. Each student knows he cares for us and it’s a great feeling. Honestly, Coffee County teachers need to strive to be like Tobey Alonso because he’s a wonderful teacher and a great person!”

Mr. Alonso has been teaching at Coffee County Central High School for three years now. 

When asked what he did before he began teaching, Alonso stated, “Prior to teaching, I was the SRO at the [Raider] Academy for two and a half years, and prior to that I was [a] patrol [officer] for the Sheriff’s Department for six years.”

Working as a School Resource Officer was what inspired Mr. Alonso to become a teacher. “I fell in love with the schedule then enjoyed working with the students, so it was easy to transition from SRO to criminal justice teacher.”

Alonso continued, “Obviously criminal justice is something I’m passionate about and will always be passionate about so getting to teach that on a daily basis is pretty awesome.”

Of course, teaching is often a frustrating job. Some days simply don’t go right, no matter how hard the teacher tries. 

According to Alonso, however, it’s not that hard to turn things back around: “You know, you have your days that just plain out suck, nothing goes right. But you know that tomorrow you can always change it – it’s on you to change it because you facilitate the room. Just change the behavior of your students and change your classroom mindset by changing yourself, really.”

Alonso’s favorite part of being a teacher is undoubtedly the schedule. “The schedule is by far the best schedule out of any profession I can think of,” Alonso says, “and this is [after working in] law enforcement – which is a hectic, crazy schedule.”

CCCHS is incredibly grateful to have such experienced and dedicated staff members as Mr. Alonso!