On Tuesday, May 2, Wayne County Public Schools (WCPS) will hold a “Celebration of Excellence” to honor the WCPS 2023-2024 Assistant Principal of the Year, Principal of the Year, and Teacher of the Year, as well as the finalists for those awards programs. WCPS will also honor its 2023 Career & Technical Education Middle & High Teachers of the Year, School Counselor of the Year, and Media Coordinator of the Year. The celebration will be held at Lane Tree Conference Center at 6 PM
All of the district’s “of the Years” will be publicly announced for the first time at the event. With the interviews complete, finalists for the Teacher of the Year, Assistant Principal and Principal of the Year programs have already been named – one each from the elementary, middle, and high school level. They include:
Teacher of the Year – Finalists | ||||
Category | Name | School | Position | |
Elementary | Laura Dean | Eastern Wayne Elementary | 1st grade Teacher | |
Middle | Richard Wingate | Grantham Middle | Physical Education Teacher | |
High | Laura J. Taylor | Wayne School of Engineering | English Language Arts Teacher & Teacher Cadet Instructor | |
Assistant Principal of the Year – Finalists | ||||
Category | Name | School | ||
Elementary | Linda Brown Rouse | Carver Elementary | ||
Middle | Laura Kester | Norwayne Middle | ||
High | Angela Grantham | Southern Wayne High | ||
Principal of the Year – Finalists | ||||
Category | Name | School | ||
Elementary | Kelly Holland | Fremont Elementary | ||
Middle | Mario Re | Dillard Middle | ||
High | Dr. Gary Hales | Wayne School of Engineering | ||
The district’s Teacher of the Year and the Principal of the Year are part of state and national awards programs. The WCPS Assistant Principal of the Year, CTE Teachers of the Year, School Counselor of the Year and Media Coordinator of the Year are district-level awards programs which represent WCPS locally. Each program has its own nomination and selection process. For the Teacher of the Year, Assistant Principal of the Year, and Principal of the Year programs, a district-level selection committee interviews each candidate to determine the district finalists. A follow-up interview of each finalist will then help determine who is named the “of the Year” for that program. Once named, the WCPS Teacher of the Year and Principal of the Year will move on to a regional competition, which is the next stage of the state-level competitions.
Below is the complete list of each school-level Teacher of the Year selected to represent their school in the coming school year:
School | Teacher of the Year |
Brogden Middle | Tosharika Elam |
Brogden Primary | Holly Benaissa |
Carver Elementary | Janet Holloman |
Carver Heights Elementary | Lisa Helms |
Charles B. Aycock High | Edward “Tony” Coggins |
Dillard Middle | Revelene Hutchins |
Eastern Wayne Elementary | Laura Dean |
Eastern Wayne High | Christopher Merritt |
Eastern Wayne Middle | Melissa Earp |
Edgewood Community Developmental School | Scott Littleton |
Fremont Elementary | Anita Ernest-Ward |
Goldsboro High | Rashad Hinnant |
Grantham Elementary | Rebecca Davis Richards |
Grantham Middle | Richard Wingate |
Greenwood Middle | Wendy Thomas |
Meadow Lane Elementary | Kelli Narron |
Mount Olive Middle | Gail Mason |
North Drive Elementary | (Sandra) Denise Dupree |
Northeast Elementary | Antoinette Relaford |
Northwest Elementary | Brooke Ash |
Norwayne Middle | Jennifer Davis |
Rosewood Elementary | Amanda Skelton |
Rosewood High | Heather Turner |
Rosewood Middle | Kacy Smith |
Southern Wayne High | Jenny Barrow |
Spring Creek Elementary | Nora Morton |
Spring Creek High | Leigh Worrell |
Spring Creek Middle | Sarah Ryan |
Tommy’s Road Elementary | Bianca Guzman |
Wayne Early/Middle College High | Elizabeth Breedlove |
Wayne Middle/High Academy | Janis Hart |
Wayne School of Engineering | Laura Taylor |
Wayne School of Technical Arts | Sara Ruhl |
Principal of the Year Finalists
Assistant Principal of the Year Finalists
WCPS School-Level Teachers of the Year