Snow Hill - Recently, former Neuse News Intern and Greene Central English teacher Alita White Lewis was named the Beginning Teacher of the Year. Lewis is a third-year English teacher at Greene Central High School. I currently teach English IV Honors, STEM English IV Honors, and English II. In addition to teaching English, she also oversees the school's yearbook and our student news publication The Rambler. The Rambler was the publication of our previous journalism class about 10 years ago. It used to be a print newspaper, but Lewis revived it this year as an online publication.

Outside of the classroom, she serves as an advisor to the National Honor Society and is part of Greene County Schools SIOP cohort. Lewis is also a certified Apple Learning Coach, which means she is certified to coach teachers within the school to incorporate Apple technology into their classrooms.

Lewis shared that she “grew up in a family closely tied to education.” Lewis’ mom taught elementary music for 20 years and then moved to an administrative position where she works with fine arts and PE teachers in Wayne County. Her dad is the Director of Technology for Lenoir County Public Schools. Her husband is also a third-year teacher, teaching social studies at North Lenoir High School. Lewis shared that “ I grew up around so many education professionals, I told myself that I wasn't going to work in education because I saw how much energy my parents put into their jobs every day. I graduated from ECU with a bachelor's degree in Communication, concentrating in Public Relations.  “

In college, Lewis interned with Neuse News as a videographer and content creator and as a social media coordinator at the ECU Alumni Association. She always thought that she wanted to work with companies to improve their public and online presence. That all changed the summer after graduating college, she shared that “when I received a text from Jennifer Croom, who was an assistant principal at Greene Central at the time. She asked me if I would be interested in applying for a position as an English teacher at her school.” Lewis agreed to the interview, not expecting much to come from it.

However was called a few hours after the interview offering her the position. “'ll admit that I was extremely nervous, knowing that I would be a lateral entry teacher, but I was determined to make the best of my position.” Now in her third year of teaching at Greene Central, Lewis will finish the lateral entry program (now called residency). She said, “I love my school and the community I've found here in Greene County, as well as the relationships I've formed with students at GC.”

When asked what she thought was the most important aspect of her job as a teacher, Lewis shared “To me, one of the most important aspects of my job is building relationships with students and their families. My biggest hope is that my students leave my classroom each day feeling loved and accepted. In addition to building relationships, I'm all about capturing memories for the GC community.” Lewis has truly made this part of her efforts with her team of yearbook students, who work to take photos at any Greene Central events, as well as publish and write articles about what's going on at school.

Lewis shared that as she thought about this honor and what she hopes her students learn from her this came to her mind. “Plans don't always end up the way you thought they would, and you might end up somewhere doing something you'd never thought you would be. Trust yourself to know that you're in the right place at the right time. “

Lewis will work on a portfolio and compete for the regional title of Beginning Teacher of the year and if chosen she will then move on to compete for the State Title.