Four Standout First-Year Teachers Win 2011 Diane Kent-Parker Awards
April 19, 2011 - The Wake County Public School System today announced the winners of the prestigious Diane Kent-Parker First-Year Teacher Awards for 2011. The award-winning teachers are:
- Brian Regis, Cedar Fork Elementary School
- Lindsay Wall, Brooks Elementary School
- Jonathan Todd, Ligon Middle School
- Julia Davis Weaver, Fuquay-Varina High School
The teachers will be honored at the Wake County Teacher of the Year banquet on May 12.
Diane Kent-Parker First-Year Teacher Award
The Wake County Public School System Diane Kent-Parker First-Year Teacher Award recognizes outstanding first-year elementary, middle, and high school teachers who are nominated by his or her principal and school and have shown significant professional success during his or her first year of teaching. Selection committee members then review the nominations and conduct interviews to select two winners from the elementary school level, one from the middle school level, and one from the high school level to receive this prestigious award.
Kent-Parker passed away unexpectedly in May 2006. Kent-Parker had served as the WCPSS Human Resources Department Senior Director for Teacher Recruitment and Retention. Her job was to fill Wake County classrooms with great teachers and she worked tirelessly at it. She died on the day that WCPSS held its 2006 Spring Job Fair, attracting 1,600 certified teachers who were interested in coming to work in Wake County.