WAYNE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS: To Hold Celebration of Excellence & Awards Program

Wayne County Public Schools issued the following announcement on Apr. 28.

On Tuesday, May 3, Wayne County Public Schools (WCPS) will hold a “Celebration of Excellence” to honor the district’s 2022 Career & Technical Education Middle & High Teachers of the Year, School Counselor of the Year, and Media Coordinator of the Year. The WCPS 2022 Assistant Principal of the Year, Principal of the Year, and Teacher of the Year will also be honored, as well as the finalists for those awards programs. The celebration will be held at Lane Tree Conference Center. 

All of the district’s “of the Years” will be publicly announced for the first time at the event. With the first round of 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: 

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 will interview 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. 

Teacher of the Year Finalists

Jaime Cox has 18 years of education service. She started her teaching career as a Music Teacher at Grantham Elementary in 2003, where she has served ever since. Amy Black has nine years of education service. She started her teaching career at Rock Ridge Elementary in Wilson County in 2013. Mrs. Black has been in her current position at Spring Creek Middle since 2016.  Anton Alston has 13 years of education service. He started his teaching career at Fair Park High in Shreveport, Louisiana in 2009.  Mr. Alston has been in his current position at Charles B. Aycock High since 2012. 

Assistant Principal of the Year Finalists

Christy G. Straughan-Haley has 29 years of education service, transitioning to school administration in 2013. Straughan-Haley has been the assistant principal of Grantham Elementary since 2020. Thomas Presley has nine years of education service, transitioning to school administration in 2019. Presley has been an assistant principal at Greenwood Middle since 2019. Kelly Benson-West has 15 years education service, transitioning to school administration in 2019. Benson-West has been an assistant principal at Charles B. Aycock High since 2019. 

Principal of the Year Finalists

Antoinette Ward has 31 years of education service, transitioning to school administration in 2008. Ward has been principal of Meadow Lane Elementary since 2021. Brian Weeks has 19 years of education service, transitioning to school administration in 2008. Weeks has been principal of Norwayne Middle since 2018. Kevin Smith has 28 years of education service, transitioning to school administration in 2007. Smith has served as principal of Southern Wayne High since 2018. 

Below is the complete list of each school-level Teacher of the Year selected to represent their school in the coming school year: 

Original source can be found here.