Horry County Teacher of the Year known for digging ‘into soul of a child’

Most of Joey Trail’s life has been plagued with hardship.

The experience of having had to face those challenges allows him to connect to students ways many others can’t.

His mother had only an eighth grade education until earning her GED at age 50. The family didn’t have running water or guaranteed electricity in their southwestern Virginia home, which was plagued with a history of addiction.

The small town where he grew up was plagued by generational poverty and “plagued by apathy.”

Trail’s desire to leave town and travel the world was frowned upon by people in the community.

“It’s not that I wanted better, it’s just that I wanted different,” Trail said. “That part was tough for a spirit like mine.”

When Trail was in first grade, his father – an abusive alcoholic – shot himself. His father survived, but Trail’s childhood was filled with continuous trauma and constant chaos.

“That was my normal, and it took a lot of years to accept it and change it,” he said.

One bright light in Trail’s life? School.

“For me, school was the escape from the reality of my home life,” he said.

Every time something horrific was happening in Trail’s life, a good teacher was there to give positive encouragement or just be a shoulder to cry on. That love of school and passion for learning pushed Trail to do his best, he said.

Maybe that’s why Trail was named the 2015-16 Horry County Schools Teacher of the Year at the district’s annual banquet Tuesday at the Myrtle Beach Marriott Resort and Spa at Grande Dunes.

Trail, an English language arts teacher at Forestbrook Middle School, has been teaching for three years. Principal April Scott said she knew how special he was within 30 seconds.

“I just love Joey Trail,” she said. “He’s honestly just like magic.”

Scott said Trail’s ability to push the boundaries of education and dig into the soul of a child was what attracted her to Trail as a teacher. She’s been proud to have him on the team ever since.

Trail uses a combination of humor, structure and personal connections during his class, cracking jokes when appropriate and asking for student input during lessons. He’s not afraid to give misbehaving students “a come to Jesus moment,” however, which earns respect from his students, said Gretchen Ayers, curriculum specialist at Forestbrook.

“These kids will do anything for him because of his personality. It’s rare to find someone who has the perfect dynamic of fun to strict,” Ayers said.

After high school Trail earned a full scholarship to Virginia Wesleyan College in 1995 but had to drop out after his freshman year because he could not afford to even wash his clothes - let alone purchase textbooks.

He was the first person on both sides of his family to attend college, so he didn’t know anyone who understood the challenges and expectations of college-level classes.

Even with a scholarship, he couldn’t afford to stay in school.

“For me to call home and borrow some money, $20 is what’s going to come, and that’s all there was,” he said. “It just wasn’t going to work.”

So, to make ends meet, Trail jumped into entertaining.

He started singing at clubs and moved on to cruise ships and theaters all over the world, finally spending five years entertaining at The Carolina Opry in Myrtle Beach. Sixteen years later, Trail decided to set up roots on the Grand Strand.

“It really got time to stop living out of a suitcase,” he said. “I was getting old.”

He considered earning a degree in accounting or business – “something that would earn me more income” – but had an instinct that teaching was his real calling. He earned a bachelor of arts in middle levels education from Coastal Carolina University and started at Forestbrook Middle in 2012.

“I loved entertaining, but it’s a different joy than I have right now,” Trail said.

Ashley Best, a 7th grade math teacher at Forestbrook Middle, said working next to Trail is a daily treat. His enthusiasm and relatable attitude toward students and adults gives him a likability not always seen in coworkers.

“He’s a breath of fresh air. In a job where you could become stressed out quickly, he’s so good to have around,” Best said.

Trail chose to teach middle school because he’s always been drawn to tween-aged kids. That - and the abundance of awkward pre-teen encounters.

“They’re so awkward. The emotions are all over the place,” he said. “I fit perfectly into those situations.”

Trail brightens the classroom environment by playing games and teaching lessons in unconventional ways, which makes him an award-winning educator, according to 7th-grader Maddie Oates.

His hurdle-filled back story ending in a statewide award motivates Oates to do her best.

“He deserves everything he has, because he teaches good and a lot of people like him,” Oates said. “He inspires me in so many ways.”

Trail said his ability to connect with students – no matter their social status, income level or past – is what makes him an outstanding teacher. Striving to figure out what’s important to a student and then validating those interests is what Trail does best – because it’s what he’s been through before.

“If anybody can reach a child that’s going through something, it’s him,” said Drema Dominguez, Trail’s mother.

Trail’s platform as Teacher of the Year is to build relationships among schools, communities and parents.

He believes maintaining good relationships with parents improves classroom management and student learning, allowing everyone to become involved in the child’s success.

“If we can build relationships a little better, students will be so successful,” Trail said.

At age 37, Trail stands in front of about 100 students every school day and inspires them to do better, dream better, and be better.

Until he began teaching, he hadn’t realized he spent 16 years in the wrong career.

“This is my place,” he said of his new career. “I’ve found my home.”

This story was originally published May 1, 2015 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Horry County Teacher of the Year known for digging ‘into soul of a child’."