Balloons in

their school colors and a bouquet of flowers greeted three finalists for

the Fayette County Teacher of the Year last week.

On the receiving

end were Ellen Mitchell, Fayette Middle School, Lisa Fine, Rising Starr

Middle School, and Mary Elizabeth Mendenhall, Kedron Elementary School.

The balloons

were accompanied by members of the Fayette County Board of Education and

school Superintendent Dr. John DeCotis.

This past December,

each school selected its own teacher of the year. The winning teacher

submitted an application to be considered for the countywide Teacher of

the Year.

The application

covered such areas as professional biography, professional development

activities, community involvement and identification of teaching techniques.

Four judges,

consisting of a retired administrator, a retired teacher, a community

representative and last year's Fayette Teacher of the Year, reviewed the

23 applications, assigning a score to each one. The teachers receiving

the three highest scores were selected to advance to the Fayette County

finals.

Art teacher

Ellen Mitchell has been with the local school system since 1984. She did

her undergraduate work at Brigham Young, graduating in 1968.

A part of her

application stated, "Well prepared teachers have a great impact on

student achievement, are more attuned to students' needs and are better

able to devise instruction to meet individual needs."

Lisa Fine teaches

gifted math and has been on board since 1993. She did her undergraduate

work at Mercer University in middle grades education and received her

master's from the University of West Georgia in middle grades math.

"The value

of our education system," she wrote, "is best measured by student

academic achievement; as teachers we are compelled to preserve the educational

institution."

Teaching fifth

grade math and science, Mary Elizabeth Mendenhall commented that if a

child does not understand a concept, "I will work with that child

through numerous avenues to enable success. My motto, 'No child will slide

through the cracks,' will enable all students to show academic success."

She did her

undergraduate work at Auburn University, graduating in 1983. Her master's

was obtained from Columbus State University in 1987, in middle grades

education.

A program honoring

all 23 teachers of the year will be April 26 at Flat Creek Baptist Church

at 7 p.m. At this time, one of the three finalists will be announced as

the Fayette County Teacher of the Year.

Last year's

winner, Linda Brem, Fayette County High School, is competing in the statewide

competition later this year.