East Coweta High School history teacher Levi Young was named Coweta County’s 2011 Teacher of the Year at an April 26 ceremony at the Centre for Performing and Visual Arts in Newnan. Young was one of three finalists for the honor along with Poplar Road Elementary’s Karen Daniel and Central Educational Center’s Amanda Sexton.
School system spokesperson Dean Jackson said the announcement came at the annual Teacher of the Year program. Young teaches Advanced Placement European History at East Coweta High School. His selection as Teacher of the Year makes him the school system’s nominee for Georgia Teacher of the Year. Jackson said Young was among three finalists for the honor of being the county’s “Top Teacher,” along with Poplar Road Elementary School 3rd grade teacher Karen Daniel and Central Educational Center Work-Based Learning teacher Amanda Sexton.
Jackson said all three finalists spoke at the Teacher of the Year program before Young was announced as Coweta’s 2011 TOTY.
Coweta County Board of Education members, Superintendent Steve Barker, members of the Newnan Pilot Club, and Coweta County 2010 Teacher of the Year Nancy Williams, of Madras Middle School, were among those who honored Young and his fellow TOTY finalists at the program. Board of Education Vice-Chairman Winston Dowdell served as the master of the ceremonies for this year’s event.
The program was preceded by a reception provided by Pilot Club members for the county’s 31 school Teachers of the Year. The Pilot Club honored the system’s three finalists with silver trays, and the Coweta Association of Educators provided Young with a Kindle reader and a laptop, purchased by the organization’s members.
Also at the event, Coweta County Board of Education members honored each of the teachers chosen by their peers as 2011 School Teachers of the Year.
The honorees included:
From elementary schools: Bobbi Deling, Reach/Gifted (Arbor Springs); Cheryl Putnam, 2nd grade (Arnco-Sargent); LaNessia Miller, 1st Grade (Atkinson); Dana Miller, 2nd Grade (Brooks); Sandy Rodes, English for Speakers of Other Languages (Canongate); Misty Markland, 3rd Grade (Eastside); Brooke Barnes, 3rd Grade (Elm Street); Cyndy Truitt, Kindergarten (Glanton); Mary Dean, Media Specialist (Jefferson Parkway); Mary Amoson, Kindergarten (Moreland); Teresa Barr, 5th Grade (Newnan Crossing); Susan Jackson, 1st Grade (Northside); Karen Daniel, 3rd Grade (Poplar Road); Meagan Hinton, 3rd Grade (Ruth Hill); Lorrie Sheffer, 5th Grade (Thomas Crossroads); Sandra Buttry, Kindergarten (Welch); Mary June Wade, Kindergarten (Western); Lisa Fleckenstein, 5th Grade (White Oak); Lori Thompson, Reach/Gifted (Willis Road).
From middle schools: Deborah Mack, 8th Grade Language Arts (Arnall); Sarah Klein, 7th Grade Language Arts (East Coweta); Sean Parker, 8th Grade Math (Evans); LaKeisha Robinson, 8th Grade Math (Lee); Trish Barberio, 7th Grade Life Science (Madras); Josh Boyd, Band Director (Smokey Road); Bruce Humphrey, Science (Maggie Brown).
From high schools: Levi Young, AP European History (East Coweta); Amanda Sexton, Work-Based Learning (CEC); Bob Ramseur, Drama (Newnan); Lauren Smith, Math (Northgate); Jennifer Harris, Math (Winston Dowdell).
Jackson said Coweta’s Teachers of the Year are chosen each year from among certified classroom teachers in Coweta County Schools, pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, including special education, physical education, art, music, and media specialists. They are selected by their peers for the quality of their teaching, professional development, teaching philosophies and methods, community involvement, contributions to education, and their ability to inspire students of all backgrounds and abilities to learn.
Nancy Williams, a 6th – 8th Grade Social Skills teacher from Madras Middle School, was chosen last April as the 2010 Coweta County Teacher of the Year. She is currently a finalist for State Teacher of the Year. Williams and Coweta County School representatives will attend the May 6 State teacher of the Year banquet, during which the state’s ‘Top Teacher’ will be announced.
Williams addressed Coweta’s 2011 Teachers of the year and finalists Tuesday night, particularly highlighting the out-of-school volunteerism of the TOTY’s in their churches, schools and communities.
The Coweta County School System is the only school system in Georgia with three county nominees chosen as Georgia Teacher of the Year, including Lorraine Johnson, Nancy Royal and Jamie Lipscomb. There have also been 14 Coweta County semi-finalists for Georgia teacher of the year since 1986, including Williams.
