ANN MARIE TAYLOR IS 2008 SOUTH CAROLINA TEACHER OF THE YEAR
Ann Marie Taylor says, "Be the change. TEACH."
See her website at: http://www.2008sctoy.com
Shirley Peeples Named District Teacher Of The Year
Shirley Peeples, a second grade teacher at Ridgeland Elementary School, has been named the Jasper County School District Teacher of the Year. The announcement was made at the meeting of the Jasper County School Board on September 24. She has been teaching the children of Jasper County for 21 years.
Peeples has been teaching the second grade Young Scholars for six years, though she has also taught first, second and third grades during her career. A graduate of the University of South Carolina with a degree in Early Childhood, she also holds a Masters in Education from Walden University with a focus on Elementary Reading and Literacy.
Peeples has been honored with the Palmetto Electric Cooperative’s "Bright Ideas" grant twice and has worked as a mentor under the states ADEPT program for new teachers. She has been a grade level chair and has published lesson plans with the National Teachers’ Training Institute. In past years, she has received incentive awards from both the state and the Jasper School District for her past performances.
All children are gifted…some just open their presents sooner than the others," Peeples said. "I want to make a difference in their lives."
She has been married to Mike Peeples for thirty-two years and the couple has resided in Jasper since 1974. They are expecting their first grandson in November.
Sharyn Cox, a first year principal of Ridgeland Elementary, was at the meeting with her school’s teacher of the year. Peeples now moves on to competition in the South Carolina statewide contest.
SCHOOL TEACHERS OF THE YEAR
HARDEEVILLE TEACHERS SELECT TOP TEACHER FOR 2007
Hardeeville parents and students may be disappointed that their new schools did not open in August but they certainly can not be disappointed in the quality of the teaching staff. The teachers met recently, voting to chose one of their peers who they thought was most representative of their profession. Samantha Jiles, Umakanth (Mr. Reddy) Chinthapanti and James Butler are the Teachers of the Year at Hardeeville Elementary, Hardeeville Junior High and Hardeeville High School. They will now advance to district level competition with the winner to move on to compete for the South Carolina title position.
Samantha Jiles has been teaching at Hardeeville Elementary (previously West Hardeeville) for eight years. She had taught the second grade Young Scholars group and this year had the privilege of looping, moving up to the third grade with her students to continue the educational process. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina Aiken and has a masters from Wheelock College.
Jiles has served as a grade level chair, headed the school's Missions and Belief team and has been a technology leader.
A member of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, her motto is "You can be and do anything you want to do when you put your mind to it."
Umakanth Chinthapanti, known to the students as Mr. Reddy (his middle name), is in his third year of teaching in the Hardeeville Junior High (formerly West Hardeeville). He is currently teaching seventh grade math and serves as math department chair. He was technology team leader last year and will continue to serve on the technology team. He holds two undergraduate degrees in math and two post graduate degrees, one in math and the other in computer application.
Reddy has previously taught in the United Kingdom as well as India. He said he enjoys “helping students reach their highest potential by guiding them along the path of enlightenment.
James Butler brings a myriad of experience to the schools, much of it from the private sector and the military. He had been teaching at West Hardeeville before moving his classroom into the Hardeeville High School where he will be teaching science. His undergraduate degree is from Savannah State University and he is pursuing his masters with courses at the University of Georgia and Georgia Southern.
Butler has worked in the field of medical technology in New York and served as an officer in the U.S. Army with tours of duty in Viet Nam and other corners of the world.
RIDGELAND TEACHERS HONOR THEIR OWN
Ridgeland is blessed by a cadre of dedicated teachers who spend endless hours educating the county’s children. Those teachers met recently to chose one of their peers who they thought was most representative of their profession. Shirley Peeples, Mary Lewis and Frederick Toomer are now the Teachers of the Year at Ridgeland Elementary, Junior High and High Schools. They will now advance to district level competition with the winner to move on to compete for the South Carolina title position.
Shirley Peeples has been teaching for twenty-one years, all of that time at Ridgeland Elementary. She has been teaching the second grade Young Scholars for six years, though she has taught first, second and third grades during her career. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and has a Masters in Education from Walden University with a focus on Elementary Reading and Literacy.
She has been a grade level chair and has served as a new teacher advisor and mentor and has published lesson plans with the National Teachers' Training Institute and has received incentive awards from both the state and the Jasper School District.
"All children are gifted…some just open their presents sooner than the others," Peeples said. "I want to make a difference in their lives."
Mary Lewis has been teaching in the Jasper County District for nine years and has been the chairperson for the Language Arts Department for three years. She is teaching English Language Arts to both sixth and seventh graders at Ridgeland Junior High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Savannah State University and holds a Masters from Wheelock College. She is currently working on her doctorate in education from Walden University.
"Education is more than a scholarly pursuit," said Lewis, "it involves nurturing the mind, body and soul of the learner."
Frederick Toomer is presently teaching anatomy, biology and physiology to tenth graders at Ridgeland High School. He is in his ninth year of teaching and has also taught astronomy and geometry during his career. He earned his degree at Morehouse College. In addition to being the science department chair, Toomer is the head girls’ basketball coach and is active in the Teachers Nurturing Teachers program.
"True knowledge begins with self-knowledge," paraphrased Toomer when asked for his teaching philosophy.
NATIONAL TEACHER OF THE YEAR
MUSIC TEACHER SELECTED AS NATIONAL WINNER Story by Greg Toppo, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON - As a high schooler who liked math and science, Andrea Peterson was sure she was destined to be a doctor — until she visited her two brothers, who were at college studying music education.
"After a week of that," she says, "I realized, 'Wow, you can really have fun in your college classes.' "
So after graduating cum laude from the University of Washington in 1996 with a double degree in music and music education, she took a job teaching music in rural Granite Falls, Wash. She spent the next decade working to revitalize music programs at the elementary and high school levels.
Today, Peterson is the 2007 National Teacher of the Year. She shook hands with President Bush on Thursday and will spend a year traveling and speaking on behalf of the program, a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers.
But while she defends her profession fiercely, like most honorees, Peterson, 33, isn't afraid to point out where it needs improvement. "I am in favor of demanding more rigor from our students," she says.
She believes that President Bush's No Child Left Behind education reform law has "increased the rigor" in schools by forcing educators to take basic skills more seriously. Though that's forcing many schools to whittle away at their music programs — her school is struggling to meet federal goals in reading and math — she says music can help struggling students build confidence and show off their skills.
"I'm not going to be the music teacher who says No Child Left Behind is killing my program," she says.
Her program enjoys considerable local support — she and a group of parents, colleagues and community leaders raise thousands of dollars each year for instruments and material. That allows Granite Falls to create three choirs, a jazz band, a marching band, an African drum ensemble and a marimba ensemble.
