After another day of pouring themselves into their students, a special group of BCS teachers had a night to reflect on their own accomplishments and celebrate the amazing work happening in classrooms across the school system.
The BCS Teacher of the Year event Thursday night at Brookstone Church in Weaverville united the Teachers of the Year from each of the system’s schools. The evening concluded with the surprise announcement that Anneliese Shreve of Buncombe County Early College is the overall BCS Teacher of the Year.
“I am humbled and surprised. We work in such an incredible district and to be representing all these incredible teachers is such a tremendous honor,” said Ms. Shreve. “I’m grateful for this big opportunity to work with every different teacher and professional at every level to make it an even better school system."
Brian Gompers of HomeTrust Bank and Christy Cheek of the Buncombe County Schools Foundation awarded Mrs. Shreve with a check for $2,000. The English teacher will now represent Buncombe County Schools in the regional Teacher of the Year competition.
Elena Oian of the Progressive Education Program received the Ruth Henderson Award. The late Ruth Henderson was a beloved English and Business teacher at Erwin High School. Each year, the Teacher of the Year committee presents the honor to a teacher who is community minded, altruistic, and carries on Ruth Henderson’s passion for teaching.
Mrs. Oian was celebrated for the volunteer and job shadow opportunities she creates for her students. She shared in her Teacher of the Year essay, “In my experience of working with my students they have benefitted from being included within the community, learning a skill, improving their self worth. They learn to communicate with patrons, using their voices or their devices. The students in my classroom are in the community making friends and making connections.”
She received a $250 gift card from AdoptAClassroom.org.
“This is one night that is truly a celebration of the hard work that happens in classrooms every day,” said BCS Superintendent Dr. Rob Jackson. “We recently shared midyear data that showed growth in every student group in every grade. That result is because of the intentional work of the tremendous teachers in our school system.”
Students helped make the evening special for teachers, as members of the North Buncombe High School FFA served dinner to teachers and their guests.
The BCS Teacher of the Year Celebration is made possible thanks to generous partners. Special thanks to Pierce Group Benefits, the Buncombe County Schools Foundation, HomeTrust Bank, Brookstone Church, Smokey and the Pig, AdoptAClassroom.org, and Ingles of Black Mountain. WLOS-TV Chief Meteorologist Jason Boyer returned as the evening's master of ceremonies.
See more photos of the event at this link. You may also watch the video of the 7 district finalists for BCS Teacher of the Year below.