PICKENS COUNTY — A Dacusville Elementary School teacher has been named the winner of the School District of Pickens County’s “Outstanding First Year Teacher of the Year” award.
Amber Bishop, a kindergarten teacher at DES, was given the honor.
“The selection process for this award has revealed great strengths in some of our first-year teachers and that makes us excited for the future,” said Danny Rogers, SDPC’s coordinator of personnel services. “Mrs. Bishop stands out among her peers and we hope that our students will benefit from her teaching for many years to come.”
Candidates were nominated by an administrator or a mentor based on a number of criteria including job performance, attendance, motivation, classroom management and openness to improvement.
The nominees were narrowed down to four finalists. In addition to Mrs. Bishop they were:
· Mairin McLeer, Special Education teacher at Gettys Middle School
· Caroline Shelton, Special Education teacher at Gettys Middle school
· Rebekah Wales, 4th grade teacher at Crosswell Elementary
In addition to the award, the winner and finalists were given a cash prize, sponsored by Chris Hayes Insurance.
The winner was given $500, and the runners-up were awarded $166 each. The district will also sponsor a day of professional development for the winner and finalists at the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Ga., in the fall.
