Teachers of the Year Named at Each School

The DeKalb County School System has announced it’s “Teachers of the Year” at each of the five schools in the county.
This year’s honoree are Beth Cantrell, a kindergarten teacher at Smithville Elementary School; Bethany Rigsby, a third grade teacher at Northside Elementary School; Karen Pelham, an eighth grade teacher at DeKalb Middle School; Jane Watson, a fifth grade teacher at DeKalb West School; and Donna Emmons, a teacher at DeKalb County High School.
Three of these five teachers will soon be selected at the system-wide level to compete for regional honors in the Tennessee Teacher of the Year Program.
Michelle Burklow, Supervisor of Instruction for grades Pre-K to 6 said “Again this year, we’re going to participate in the Teacher of the Year program, which begins on the school level, moves to the system level, the regional level, and finally to the state level.
“In pre-kindergarten through fourth grade, Teachers of the year are Beth Cantrell from Smithville Elementary and Bethany Rigsby from Northside Elementary. One of them will be selected to represent DeKalb County at the regional level.
“In grades 5 through 8, the teachers of the year are Jane Watson from DeKalb West School and Karen Pelham from DeKalb Middle School and one of them will represent DeKalb County at the regional level.”
“In the 9th through 12th grade, which is DeKalb County High School, Donna Emmons is the Teacher of the Year and she will represent DeKalb County at the regional competition. Emmons teaches English I, Journalism, and advises the student media program, Tiger Media. She has been a teacher in the freshman academy since its inception (now in its 6th year).
Should these teachers win at the regional, they will represent DeKalb County at the state level in March.
The Tennessee Teacher of the Year Program is designed to promote recognition, respect and appreciation for teachers; to stimulate interest in teaching as a career; and to encourage public involvement in education.
This program is sponsored annually by the Tennessee Department of Education and the Niswonger Foundation.
The Tennessee Teacher of the Year represents Tennessee at the National Teacher of the Year competition, which is sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers and Scholastic, Inc.
Teachers of the Year are selected competitively through five cycles: Building, System, Field Service Center Region, Grand Division and State; and from three categories (levels of teaching); Grades Pre K-4, 5-8, 9-12.
Teachers selected at each cycle receive local recognition and awards underwritten by local sources. State recognition/awards include a banquet honoring the nine State Teacher of the Year finalists and certificates of appreciation from the Governor. In addition, the State Finalists and the State Teacher of the Year receive cash awards from the Niswonger Foundation.