The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) 2024 Empower NC Beginning Teacher of the Year runner-up is Samantha Shaw, English teacher at Carrboro High School City Schools.
“As I reflect, and work on being the best teacher I can be, one of the questions I always think through is, ‘Did that lesson teach students to love the content?’” Shaw told The Daily Tar Heel. “'Did they do it because they wanted to learn? Or, did they do it because it was compliance-based? Did they do it because Ms. Shaw said so?' And I never want it to be the last one.”
The following comments were made before the announcement -
The NCCAT 2024 Empower NC Beginning Teacher of the Year runner up believes a teacher learns from their students, colleagues, and the larger community. This teacher shows up for their students. Not just a quick turnaround of grades, but by being in the stands of a basketball game and in the big moments of their lives.
This teacher is described as having comprehensive lesson plans that meet every student’s needs and who motivates their students through relationship building. This teacher gives their students space to put their ideas forward and approaches challenges with a mindset of seeing things differently.
A student noted this teacher went above and beyond to give them precise feedback and told me “see you are smart. You are smarter than any test. You know this.”
Another student shared, “I never would have thought about how I learn before these conferences. I just wanted the A. Now, in English, I want to learn.”
A parent shared, “students and families see her as someone they can trust because of her commitment to their success.”
This teacher’s classroom includes five elements: a teacher who knows her students well and is prepared, students who conduct themselves with mutual respect, an invitation for student curiosity, hands-on activities that facilitate collaboration, and students who hold personal responsibility for their academic success.
Please join me in congratulating Samantha Shaw, English teacher at Carrboro High School in Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools as the runner up for the NCCAT 2024 Empower NC Beginning Teacher of the Year.
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