Amanda Turner, a seventh grade teacher at Clayton Middle School has been named the 2020 Johnston County Public Schools Teacher of the Year. A total of 232 nominations were initially submitted and 103 of those teachers chose to submit a Best Practice from their classrooms. Through a blind judging process, 20 semifinalists were selected to move on to the interview phase.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the judging process and presentation had to pivot. The traditional in-person interviews were converted to video presentations where candidates also addressed specific questions and were reviewed by a second judging panel.
Amanda Turner’s best practice was entitled “The Social Studies Community: More Than a Classroom; More Than a Course”. She created a collaborative team of students and teachers to teach themes of community, identity, civic responsibility, and change. When describing her practice, Amanda said, “These discussions among students from different backgrounds and abilities paired with the input and guidance of three different teachers is the perfect mixture for thought provoking “light bulb” moments that are exciting to watch.”
Amanda will move forward to represent Johnston County in the regional competition.
Three innovative teachers were chosen as finalists: Carmen Young of Wilson’s Mills Elementary, Lena LaBoeuf of Polenta Elementary, and Brittany Addison of West View Elementary.
The Triangle East Chamber of Commerce sponsored the 2020 Flame for Learning / Teacher of the Year event.
