Kirby Forbes, a second-year math teacher at Lee County High School, was named the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) 2023 Empower NC Beginning Teacher of the Year in a special ceremony at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center on the campus of Western Carolina University Thursday March 9th.
Forbes is determined to break through to each student. “I have to work really hard to find ways to help them like math and to build a relationship with them. I just start by trying to find fun ways in the classroom to help them like math. I’ve seen a lot of growth in my students, the numbers and the data are there, but I can also see that their mindsets have changed. By the end of the semester, I can tell that even if math isn’t their favorite subject at least they feel more confident that they can do it.”