Northwestern High School Teacher a Finalist For State Teacher of The Year #rockhill #rockhillschools

Dr. Jeff Venables

Monday, March 4, 2013

Five Finalists Named for South Carolina Teacher of the Year Honor

Columbia, SC – Today, the South Carolina Department of Education announced five outstanding classroom teachers as finalists in the South Carolina State Teacher of the Year Program. One of these exceptional educators will have the privilege of representing more than 50,000 South Carolina teachers in the National Teacher of the Year competition.

The five finalists, listed alphabetically by school district, are:

·         Lisa O. McCrea-Raiford, an elementary grades teacher at the Center of Innovative Learning at Pinecrest, Aiken County Public School District

·         Darleen S. Sutton, a first grade teacher at Pickens Elementary School, School District of Pickens County

·         Paul D. Johnson, a biology teacher at Saluda High School, Saluda County Schools

·         Trevor T. Ivey, a science teacher at Alice Drive Middle School, Sumter School District

·         Jeffrey M. Venables, a chemistry teacher at Northwestern High School, Rock Hill Schools (York County District Three)

State Superintendent of Education Mick Zais said, “After parents, the most important person in a child’s education is the man or woman at the front of the classroom. Lisa, Darleen, Paul, Trevor, and Jeffrey put the interests of their students first and lead classrooms where a personalized and customized approach to education produces outstanding results. On behalf of their students, parents, and colleagues, we congratulate and thank these educators for their excellence in the classroom.”

The five finalists were chosen from nominees representing 81 local school districts, the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Palmetto Unified School district, and the South Carolina Public Charter School District. The five finalists will travel to Columbia for personal interviews with a seven-member state selection committee.

All five finalists were chosen by a panel of educators and private citizens with no connections to the South Carolina Department of Education. The names of the teachers and their schools were concealed from the judges during the selection process.

The announcement of the South Carolina 2013-14 Teacher of the Year will be made during the Teacher of the Year Celebration on Wednesday, May 1 at the Metropolitan Convention Center in Columbia. During the 2013-14 school year the Teacher of the Year will participate in a one-year residency program at the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement (CERRA) and will serve as a statewide ambassador for the profession.

South Carolina’s Teacher of the Year will also receive a $25,000 cash award and a BMW to use for a year. The four remaining finalists (known as Honor Roll teachers) will each receive $10,000, and the district teachers of the year will receive $1,000 each.

This year marks the 48th year of the South Carolina Teacher of the Year Program, which has increased in both participation and prestige. The awards program is a nationally recognized event that honors the State Teacher of the Year, Honor Roll teachers, and district teachers of the year.

The National Teacher of the Year program, which began in 1952, is a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and is sponsored by the ING Foundation.

The 2013-14 State Teacher of the Year will succeed Amy McAllister-Skinner, an English teacher at Johnsonville High School in Florence District 5.