Did your teacher make the list? Beaufort Co. schools name teachers, staff of the year

Beaufort County School District is closing out the school year with awards — 70, to be exact.

On Friday, the district announced each school’s Teacher of the Year and Support Staff of the Year, surprising the winners in staff meetings, classrooms and hallways.

These winners can apply over the summer to be the district’s teacher or support staff member of the year. Finalists for both categories are announced in the fall, along with the winners of the district-level award.

The current District Teacher of the Year is Megan DeWeese, a first-grade teacher at Okatie Elementary School who was honored in a surprise staff meeting last fall. DeWeese helped surprise her school’s new teacher of the year, DJ Wilson, on Friday.

“It’s a true honor to be teacher of the year, because it means what I’m doing is meaningful to the children and to the adults in the building,” Wilson said. “It’s just such an honor.”

Teachers of the Year were selected by their peers, according to criteria established by the schools, the S.C. Department of Education and the district’s Teacher Forum.

“This is a terrific opportunity to celebrate the unique gifts of our best of the best teacher and staff leaders,” Superintendent Frank Rodriguez said in a press release. “They represent all district employees who have worked tirelessly to innovate instruction and have been instrumental in supporting our students’ needs in so many ways during this unprecedented year.”

Support staff who won their school’s or department’s awards include bus drivers, school nurses, social workers, bookkeepers and teaching assistants.

“To be celebrated for something that I love to do — I love the kids, so it’s a great thing,” said Erik Alston, a behavior management specialist who won Robert Smalls International Academy’s support staff of the year award.

Winners for each school are listed below:

Rachel Jones

The Island Packet

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Rachel Jones covers education for the Island Packet and the Beaufort Gazette. She attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and has worked for the Daily Tar Heel and Charlotte Observer. She has won awards from the South Carolina Press Association, Associated College Press and North Carolina College Media Association for feature writing and education reporting.