Wake County schools announce 2020-21 Teacher of the Year finalists
Posted December 8, 2020 3:24 p.m. EST
Raleigh, N.C. — On Tuesday, Wake County schools announced the 10 finalists for the 2020-21 Teacher of the Year Award.
The finalists each received a surprise visit from the "Surprise Patrol," led by Superintendent Cathy Moore, who greeted each finalist with a gift basket and award. Each finalist was chosen from over 10,000 teachers in the district.
The Wake County Public School System congratulates the following Teacher of the Year finalists:
- Gregory Eyman, Brentwood Magnet Elementary
- Robin Giberson, Buckhorn Creek Elementary
- Sean Hines, Mount Vernon Middle
- Kimberly Holland, Oakview Elementary
- Victoria Lightfoot, Cedar Forks Elementary
- Kelly O’Hare, Olive Chapel Elementary
- Jennifer Pride, Heritage Middle
- Aaron Steele, Knightdale High
- Bethany Wilcox, Leesville Road Middle
- Bria Wright, Hortons Creek Elementary
Each finalist was nominated and elected by their peers at their individual schools earlier in the year.
All nominees were then asked to develop an “e-portfolio” and short video to highlight their work and philosophy around teaching.
Selection committees reviewed the portfolios and videos to narrow the field to a group of 20 semi-finalists, which were named in February. Scores from the e-portfolio and the highlight video were combined with observation scores to determine the 10 finalists.
Each of the 10 finalists now will appear virtually before an interview committee for the selection of the Teacher of the Year.
The winning teacher will be announced in February 2021.