Superintendent Catty Moore surprised this year’s winners of the Diane Kent-Parker First-Year Teacher Award at their schools on Feb. 8.

Every year our district honors a group of outstanding teachers from elementary, middle, high, and special education with this award. These teachers are recognized for navigating the challenges of a new job with grace, skill, and confidence. They serve as models for their colleagues and inspiration for their students. 

The following winners will be recognized at the Teacher of the Year banquet on April 27.

Elementary - Betty Cotton, Fifth-Grade Teacher, Green Magnet Elementary

From Cotton’s nomination letter: Ms. Cotton has spent 20 plus years as an instructional assistant. She knows good instruction, but better yet, she knows how to motivate and support students. She holds herself to high standards, which makes her students rise the expectations she places on them. In her classroom all students have a place and they are interdependent on each other to represent themselves well. Students and staff are often curious about the community, engagement, and collaboration that exists within her class. It is seen and felt throughout the building.