Dougherty County School System announces Teacher of the Year candidates

ALBANY — The Dougherty County School School System has announced its eight finalists for the system’s 2015-16 Teacher of the Year.

The finalists are: Latinda Dean, Albany High School; Allison Orme, International Studies Elementary Charter School; Tiffany Pafford, Lake Park Elementary School; Kawanna Jones, Merry Acres Middle School; April Bush, Northside Elementary School; Sherrie Hubbard, Radium Springs Middle Magnet School of the Arts; Mona Tarver, Sherwood Acres Elementary School; and Adrianne Harris, South Georgia Regional Achievement Center.

“The Teacher of the Year is important to us in that it helps us publicize the fact that we have so many good teachers in the Dougherty County School System,” DCSS Superintendent Butch Mosely said. “It’s an opportunity for them to get the attention they deserve. All the candidates are top quality and represent the best our school system has to offer.”

Twenty-four classroom teachers were honored recently on being selected as the 2015-16 Teacher of the Year for their respective schools. This honor was the first step in a process to select the one system Teacher of the Year who will represent the county’s public schools in the state Teacher of the Year program next year.

Following the selection of school-level honorees, a screening committee reviewed each nomination package and provides a list of the eight finalists for selection to the county-wide honor. That screening committee was chaired by Debra Johnson and included Michelle Bergozza, Dianne Boges, Betty Graper, Sonja McKenzie, Marie Salter and Cassandra Sampson.

Until March 6, committee members of the System Selection Committee will visit each of the eight finalists to observe classroom practices and teaching strategies to score each candidate on a scale of ten criteria.

The system winner will be announced at the Annual Teacher of the Year/Retired Educators Banquet scheduled for April 16.

The 24 Teachers of the Year in the Dougherty County School System are: Latinda Dean, Albany High School; Rita Correia, Dougherty High School; Ebonie Dawson, Monroe High School; Ronald R. Dees, Westover High School; Sarah Mack-Holloway, Albany Middle School; Kawanna M. Jones, Merry Acres Middle School; Sherrie Smith Hubbard, Radium Springs Middle School; Jessica Morris, Robert A. Cross Middle School; Shannon Howell, Southside Middle School; Tiesha Denise Reed, Alice Coachman Elementary School; Allison Diane Orme, International Studies Elementary Charter School; Brittini Myles, Jackson Heights Elementary School; Tiffany Pafford, Lake Park Elementary School; Tresca Patrinia Roberts, Lamar Reese Elementary School; Alvette Arnold Johnson, Lincoln Elementary School; Tomeka Warren, Live Oak Elementary School; Carolyn Harris, Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School; Priscilla M. Hilson, Morningside Elementary School; April Bush, Northside Elementary School; Cathy Parks Flood, Radium Springs Elementary School; Mona Lashay Tarver, Sherwood Acres Elementary School; Christopher Sharpe, Turner Elementary School; Arpeja Pricilla Shorts, West Town Elementary School; Andrea Owens-Jones College and Career Performance Learning Center; Adrianne Harris, SGRAC.

The 2014-15 DCSS teacher of the year was Jennifer Lewis-Polite of Lincoln Elementary Magnet School.