When Samantha Mathe was part of the Northeast Georgia drug task force, some of her most used skills were de-escalation and tact. Her ability to read people made her a better officer.
Now, she’s using those same skills in her new job — as a special education co-teacher at Oglethorpe County Primary School.
“I did it for so long, you can look at a person and tell if they’ve had a rough time and be able to know that difference and be able to give them that grace,” Mathe said. “Are they doing that because they want to do that or are they doing that because there’s something else going on?”
Mathe started at Oglethorpe County Primary School as a second-grade special education teacher and co-taught with a general education teacher in 2023. She moved to first grade this year to teach alongside Adriane Echols.
The skills and perspective Mathe brought to the classroom were part of the reason she was hired. Echols said Mathe’s understanding of the “outside world” allows her to teach the kids about consequences with context.
“They need to see that there are some consequences, and I feel like seeing it out in the outside world and bringing it here, it kind of helps,” Echols said.
When she was full time at the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office, Mathe was the only mandated female officer on staff, so on top of the “huge transition” from dealing with adults and crime to children, she also had to deal with a shift in work environment.
About 14% of full-time sworn officers and 12% of first-line supervisors in sheriff’s offices in the U.S. were female, according to a 2020 study by the Bureau of Justice. In that same year, 89% of elementary school teachers were female, according to a study by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Mathe said the shift allowed her to let her guard down and receive the support from the teachers around her, who she says naturally checked in on her and cared for her.
Changing careers at 40 seemed crazy for Mathe, who said she constantly questioned her choice in the first year. She leaned on her husband and her friends who she said supported her every decision.
“Coming into a nurturing environment was a very nice transition compared to the not-nurturing environment,” Mathe said. “I don’t say that like it’s a bad thing, but it was different.”
Although Mathe had experience with teaching and training with her father, who taught at Northeast Georgia Police Academy, her first time teaching in an elementary school classroom was part of the Choosing Healthy Activities and Methods Promoting Safety (C.H.A.M.P.S.) program.
“It was partially C.H.A.M.P.S. fault,” Mathe said. “I got a taste for being around kids, and I really liked them, and they’re funny. I loved teaching them.”
Oglethorpe County implemented C.H.A.M.P.S. into OCES in 2021. Fifth-graders were taught about illegal substances, cyberbullying, home safety and more. Mathe was asked to teach the program at OCPS.
“I’m a perfectionist, and I wanted it to work because the subject matter is really important,” Mathe said. “I feel like a lot of kids aren’t equipped with the information that they need.”
After working at the Sheriff’s Office for nine years, Mathe said she was starting to “do some serious soul searching” about whether she wanted to continue.
Her children, who are 7, 9 and 11, also played a factor in her decision to ultimately leave the department.
“It was the look of disappointment that I got on a regular basis from my kids when I had to go back to work; it started to get soul crushing,” Mathe said. “I was missing too much of my children. I was missing too much of my husband.”
Mathe’s transition also included taking the Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators and passing on a professional level, which she did for special education. She has returned to school to pursue her graduate degree in special education at Georgia Southern, so she can be certified to teach pre-K through 12th grade.
Mathe remains on reserve with the Sheriff’s Office, going through her firearms qualification once a year, taking specific classes and staying “in the loop” on what’s happening.
“I just want to love on kids and help them in every way that I can,” Mathe said. “I want to support them, help them grow, learn and create, and be a light in the darkness for people.”