Twenty-seven teachers from across North Carolina have been selected as finalists for the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) 2024 Empower NC Beginning Teacher of the Year Award for their dedication, innovation, and ability to inspire students to achieve.
The NCCAT 2024 Empower NC Beginning Teacher of the Year Award process was developed to honor beginning teachers and to retain teachers who show promise as excellent teachers and education leaders in North Carolina public schools and public charter schools. One of these talented educators will be named the 2024 NCCAT Empower NC Beginning Teacher of the Year after being selected by a panel of judges. They will participate in a week for professional development at NCCAT February 12-16, 2024. The award will be presented on February 15, 2024, at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.
“NCCAT is thrilled to have the chance to honor this exceptional and worthy group of educators,” said NCCAT Executive Director M. Brock Womble. “Each finalist has demonstrated an unwavering dedication to their practice, and in a short period of time made a profound impact on their students, families, schools, and communities. Thank you to the school districts they come from for their commitment to student success with quality teachers. Any one of them would make North Carolina proud as our 2024 NCCAT Empower NC Beginning Teacher of the Year. My thanks and congratulations to each of our finalists.”
The NCCAT 2024 Empower NC Beginning Teachers of the Year are:
• Bethany Wilson- Ashe County Schools
• Margaret "Maggie" Allen- Asheville City Schools
• Kaitlyn "Katie" Adams- Brunswick County Schools
• Cassidy Upton- Burke County Schools
• John Calabrese- Cabarrus County Schools
• Hannah Creed- Caswell County Schools
• Samantha Shaw- Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
• Sade' Mangum- Cumberland County Schools
• Danielle "Dani" Fisher- Edenton-Chowan Schools
• Halaina Montoya- Envision Science Academy
• Kenyona "Ken" Bethea- Guilford County Schools
• Abigail "Abby" Bentley- Haywood County Schools
• Lauren Schneider- Henderson County Schools
• Laura Jones- Hoke County Schools
• Savannah Travis- Lincoln County Schools
• Megan Strong- Montgomery County Schools
• Nicholas "Nick" Tirpak- Mount Airy City Schools
• Madison Ayers- New Hanover County Schools
• Allyson Sarnowski- Northeast Academy for Aerospace & Advanced Technologies
• Camryn Story- Pitt County Schools
• Sydney Smith- Roanoke Rapids Schools
• Austin Herlocker- Stanly County Schools
• Alivia Salvagni- The Expedition School
• Karen Dusterberg- Wake County Schools
• Sarah Irick- Wayne County Schools
• Elizabeth Dancy- Wilkes County Schools
• Holly Johnston- Wilson County Schools
The NCCAT Beginning Teacher of the Year will receive:
• $5,000 cash prize
• Participation for the winner in a GoGlobal NC trip in 2025
• Instructional supply funds for the teacher's school
• A piece of fine jewelry from Diamonds Direct
The Runner-up will receive:
• $2,000 cash prize
The Finalists will receive:
• Travel expenses and substitute costs paid for regional finalists to participate at NCCAT.
About NCCAT
NCCAT supports teachers and impacts students with high-quality professional development. Increasing teacher effectiveness is fundamental to improving public education. NCCAT provides teachers with new knowledge, skills, teaching methods, best practices, and information to take back to their classrooms. For more information about NCCAT’s professional development programs, visit www.nccat.org or call 828-293-5202.