MONCKS CORNER, SC – At its annual Teacher Forum Induction, the Berkeley County School District (BCSD) honored its 2014 school-level Teachers of the Year and announced its top three Honor Roll teachers.
The annual ceremony was held at Crowfield Baptist Church and featured the talents of Cane Bay High School’s Cobra Quartet. The Forum and district congratulated and recognized the 41 school-wide
winners.
For the top three Honor Roll educators, who will advance to compete for the 2014 district-level Teacher of the Year honor, the following descriptions were shared with the audience:
- Boulder Bluff Elementary—Carolyn Hill Mullinax: “Teaching was not her first choice of a career. While in college her mother tried her best to get her to go into teaching, but she wanted to be a graphic designer. She worked as the Head of the Graphic Design Department for ten years at the Charleston Naval Base until the base closed. Obviously, she went on to become a teacher. In her professional biography she wrote, ‘My very first teacher, my mother, knew who I was before I even knew. So I guess mothers do know best! I could not imagine what my life would be like now if I was not a teacher…Art is not a hobby…Art is who I am…and teaching is not what I do…it is who I am.’”
- Marrington Elementary—Lauren Reeder: “Admittedly, this Teacher of the Year was quite a handful as a student in fourth grade student. She was inspired by her fourth grade teacher Mrs. Woodruff, who showed her patience, love, and kindness no matter how trying she became. Her teachers throughout school became the mentors that cultivated her love for theater and speech – and instilled in her a desire to do likewise for other children. In her biography she wrote, ‘I knew in my heart that I wanted to make a difference in children’s lives, invest in them and love them just as my teachers had done for me.’”
- Goose Creek High—Heather Ducker: “While working in an attorney’s office after college, she witnessed a court case in which it was decided that a 15-year-old would be tried as an adult for murder. She kept thinking to herself that day of how different the life of that child might have been if a responsible adult had stepped in and taught him empathy, problem solving, or just plain right from wrong. In her biography she wrote, ‘I left the courtroom that day…and decided I was going to use my degree to make this world a better place. I decided on that day that I would save as many children who entered my life as needed. I decided on that day that I would be the only responsible person that many of them knew. I decided on that day to always make my classroom a safe place for students….and today there is nothing more rewarding to me than seeing a student maximize his or her potential in life.’”
The district’s Teacher of the Year will be announced on Friday, March 28 at an annual breakfast with the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce, Santee Cooper and Trident Technical College.
The other top semifinalists for the district-level Teacher of the Year award are:
- Goose Creek Primary—Dana Wiggins
- H.E. Bonner Elementary—Sherry Hyatt
- Hanahan Middle—Alexandra Davis
- Marrington Middle—Carrie Courtney
- Stratford High—LTC (Ret.) Samuel Blanton
The other school-level award recipients are:
- Berkeley Elementary—Heather Chappelear
- Berkeley Intermediate—Melinda Miller
- Cainhoy Elementary/Middle—Sylvia Williams
- Cane Bay Elementary—Becky Hill
- College Park Elementary—Jessica White
- Cross Elementary—Nicole Simone Wilborn
- Daniel Island School—James Mitchell
- Devon Forest Elementary—Kelley Myrick
- Hanahan Elementary—Elaine Berndt
- Howe Hall AIMS—Jami Garrard
- J.K. Gourdin Elementary—Shyvonne B. Alford
- Sangaree Elementary—Lauren DeTreville
- Sangaree Intermediate—Christina Short
- Sedgefield Intermediate—Aidra V. Shaw
- St. Stephen Elementary—Erika Myers
- Westview Elementary—Lauren Bates
- Westview Primary—Melanie Hofstrom
- Whitesville Elementary—Jennifer L. Smalarz
- Berkeley Middle—Julia Stanley
- Cane Bay Middle—Chelsey Mintz
- College Park Middle—Deanna Harrell
- Macedonia Middle—Tracy Williams
- Sangaree Middle—Ronald Wiggins
- Sedgefield Middle—Tamara-Lynn Sweatman
- St. Stephen Middle—Charity Gwen Carpenter
- Westview Middle—David Holaday
- Berkeley Alternative—Lisa B. Swiney
- Berkeley High—Tamara Moore
- Berkeley County Middle College—Lance J. Parrish
- Cane Bay High—Sherry Norris
- Cross High—Shamika Smalley
- Hanahan High—Heather Wilkerson
- Timberland High—Lori M. Cox
A lifelong Berkeley County resident, Nikki Gaskins Campbell is an Emmy-nominated journalist with more than 20 years of experience covering news. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a degree in broadcast journalism.
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