Teachers from La Grange, Banks, Kinston High finalists for top honor
From the 18 teachers chosen as their school's Teacher of the Year, a panel of judges has selected three finalists for the title of 2019-2020 LCPS Teacher of the Year – from left, Savannah McIntyre of Kinston High School, Jennifer Sutton of La Grange Elementary School and Britni Davis of Banks Elementary School. Photo by Patrick Holmes / Lenoir County Public Schools
The 2019-2020 Teacher of the Year honorees from LCPS schools and its pre-kindergarten program are, from left, front, Jodi Stocks, Moss Hill Elementary; Nichole Hathaway, Contentnea-Savannah K-8; Katie Mills, Southeast Pre-K; Keiara Morris, Rochelle Middle; Jodi Maxey, South Lenoir High; Rachel Hill, Northwest Elementary; Shanella Roberts, Southeast Elementary; Tamika Gaskill, Northeast Elementary; Britni Davis, Banks Elementary; back, Steven Loftin, Woodington Middle; Katelyn Burrus, Pink Hill Elementary; Kamron Robertson, Lenoir County Early College; Savannah McIntyre, Kinston High; Reginald Dawson, North Lenoir High; Shannon Hamm, Southwood Elementary; Jennifer Sutton, La Grange Elementary; Paul Boldt, Frink Middle; and Danny Warren, Lenoir County Learning Academy. Photo by Patrick Holmes / Lenoir County Public Schools
Three teachers who took different paths to the classroom have ended up at the same high point of their careers – finalists for recognition as 2019-2020 LCPS Teacher of the Year.
Jennifer Sutton of La Grange Elementary School, Britni Davis of Banks Elementary School and Savannah McIntyre of Kinston High School were selected from the 18 teachers chosen to represent each district school and its pre-kindergarten program as Teacher of the Year.
Each school representative compiled a portfolio describing their educational history, their professional biography and philosophy of teaching. They were interviewed by a panel of judges – comprised of district administrators and staff – on Wednesday, when the finalists were announced.
The same panel will chose the winner from the three finalists based in part on classroom observations scheduled for February. The finalists will also keynote the district’s annual employee recognition banquet on April 4. At that banquet, Teacher of the Year, Employee of the Year and Principal of the Year winners will be announced.
“It was extremely hard to just choose three finalists when all of the candidates were of such high caliber,” said Pam Heath, district human resources manager, who organizes the Teacher of the Year selection process. “All of the candidates spoke from the heart about their passion for teaching and their love for their students.
“The judges are really excited about getting into the classrooms of the finalists to observe them in their classroom setting and truly see them shine.”
The most veteran of the finalists, Sutton began her 22 years in education as a computer teacher after earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in business and marketing education. She spent 10 years at Northwest Elementary before moving to La Grange after a short stint with Wayne County schools. She settled into the second grade at La Grange, where she is grade chair, a member of the School Improvement Team, a mentor for beginning teachers and a clinical teacher for interns from East Carolina University.
She became a National Board Certified Teacher in 2010 and was previously chosen as La Grange’s Teacher of the Year for 2010-2011.
“Each child deserves to learn and be loved and our parents should know that together we can help their child be successful,” Sutton wrote in her portfolio.
Davis, a teacher for six years, went from college to the classroom after earning a degree in elementary education as a North Carolina Teaching Fellow. She started as a fifth grade teacher in Cumberland County and joined LCPS as a fourth-grade teacher at Banks in 2015. She is grade chair at Banks.
According to the biography reviewed by the judges, as the child of a military family frequently on the move, school became a constant in her life. “I attended a different school every year until I was almost through with middle school,” she wrote. “Each school had different teachers and different students but always followed a similar routine. Going to school and being in the classroom quickly became my safe place.”
Her classroom at Banks stands out for its bright décor, non-traditional furnishings and high energy. “Learning is a personal journey for students and I believe students of all ages should have some choice in how they learn,” she wrote.
McIntyre has spent her four years in education in the social studies department at Kinston High School, where she arrived through the Teach for America program and where she currently teaches civics and economics. She is active in professional development activities at KHS, particularly in the areas of literacy and technology and is a member of the School Improvement Team.
She credits a U.S. History teacher during her sophomore year in high school with erasing her dread of reading and igniting a passion for learning that ultimately led McIntyre into teaching. “By becoming a teacher, I got to be a part of the team of people working to ensure that children have access to the education that they need to live the life that they want,” she wrote in her portfolio.
To that end, she is a strong advocate for the use of digital tools – the iPads LCPS provides students and an array of educational apps, for instance – as a way to individualize instruction, teach time management skills and open students’ eyes to the larger world around them.
“The world my students enter into after high school will be a global one. They will need skills to help them work with people from different cultural backgrounds from their own,” she wrote.