July 18

         I want to say thank you to the US Army and the Golden Knights for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime.  On July 18 I did my first tandem jump with Joe Jones.  I was extremely nervous at the thought of jumping out of an airplane, but I knew I was in good hands.  The entire experience was amazing.  I am so thankful to have had the opportunity!  Please check out the links below.

Article from the Golden Knights website: 

 http://armygk.armylive.dodlive.mil/2012/07/20/tandem-with-north-carolinas-teacher-of-the-year/

Youtube Video of the entire experience:
http://youtu.be/c6a3rhTgl9k

July 9-13

     I spent this week in Ocracoke at NCCAT.  I was very excited to have the opportunity to attend the seminar on North Carolina Mountains to Sea.  There were many wonderful presenters and I learned a great deal about our wonderful state.  The seminar made me even more excited to be able to travel across the state this year and visit many of the wonderful schools that we have.  I also had the opportunity to meet many outstanding teachers from all of the North Carolina regions.  I learned a great deal from each of them about what makes their regions and schools unique.

            Trisha Caviness and I are attempting to hold up the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

June 2012

          I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Teacher of the Year Leadership Seminar at NCCAT in Cullowee, NC.  During this seminar I met so many amazing Regional and District Teachers of the Year.  During the week long seminar we had many opportunities to learn from each other.  We were also able to experience hiking, breaking boards, and white water rafting together.  It was an amazing adventure that I will never forget.  Thank you for this opportunity!

May 2012

          I am honored to be named the North Carolina Teacher of the Year for 2012-2013.  Since I was young I have always had a dream to teach and to help others.  I believe that students today have a great deal of potential within themselves; however they need us to help guide them to be successful.  Through the teacher of the year selection process, I have been able to meet eight outstanding teachers who help their students succeed each day.  These eight teachers are the NC Regional Winners who will now work together to make up the “NC Teacher Team”.  We will be working together this coming school year to be a resource and a voice for all of the teachers in North Carolina.

            Each year the NC Teacher of the Year travels across our beautiful state visiting schools, districts, and universities.  I am very excited to be given this opportunity.  I look forward to meeting many of North Carolina’s wonderful teachers.  Over the next year I want to help teachers connect with other teachers across our state in order to collaborate on lessons to help students learn.  Our students need to work together with students not only in our own schools, but also with students across our state.

In addition to having the opportunity to talk with teachers across the state, I will also have a seat on the State Board to be a voice for all teachers.  I want to extend the offer to contact me if you have any thoughts or concerns that you would like me to discuss.  I look forward to meeting many of you in the upcoming year.