Dare County Schools Teachers of the Year celebrated

Published 9:21 am Sunday, October 6, 2019

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The 2019-20 Teachers of the Year for Dare County Schools. Courtesy DCS

Superintendent John Farrelly, left, Board of Education Chairman Bea Basnight and Cape Hatteras Secondary Principal Beth Rooks, right, join District Teacher of the Year Justin Paxton. Courtesy DCS

Dare County Schools hosted the annual Teacher of the Year Banquet on Wednesday, September 25 at Pamlico Jack’s in Nags Head.

Each of the 11 schools selected a teacher to serve as their Teacher of the Year. Out of those 11 teachers, a district committee conducted interviews and selected one teacher to represent the district in the upcoming regional and state competitions.

Teachers of the Year for 2019-20 are: Solomon Dixon, First Flight Middle School; Raleigh Hudock, Manteo High School; Patricia Decker, Cape Hatteras Elementary School; Amy Gross, Nags Head Elementary School; Teresa Edwards, Manteo Middle School; Ann Ball, Kitty Hawk Elementary School; Lauren Deal, First Flight High School; Charlotte Hester, Manteo Elementary School; Justin Paxton, Cape Hatteras Secondary School; Corinne West, First Flight Elementary School; Dawn Tillett, Dare Learning Academy.

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Cape Hatteras Secondary School art teacher Justin Paxton was selected to serve as this year’s District Teacher of the Year. Paxton’s community mural art project has inspired many students, teachers and business leaders to get involved in the Hatteras community.

The banquet was made possible through contributions from TowneBank, the Dare Education Foundation and Horace Mann Insurance.

The Board of Education provided each teacher with a replica of an antique brass school bell including a personalized inscription of the teacher’s name and school, a flower arrangement and a stipend of $150 (the District Teacher of the Year received a $500 stipend).

The District Teacher of the Year also will attend a weeklong session at North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) and receive $250 for use in their classroom funded by Dare County Board of Education’s contribution to the NCCAT scholarship program.

Additionally, the Dare Education Foundation provided each teacher with a $100 award. The Foundation provided the District Teacher of the Year a $1000 professional development opportunity.

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