Board honors district educators, names teachers and principal of the year

Speaker 1 opened the meeting by noting that it is Educator Appreciation Month and asked the board to join in recognizing local educators who have contributed extra time to curriculum development and student support. "We are always striving to be better today than we were yesterday," Speaker 1 said, framing the recognitions as part of the district's strategic emphasis on instructional improvement.

Those the district credited for service on the Comprehensive Educational Resources (CER) consortium included Mike Showers; Diane Holdren; Krista Wilson; Emily Maurice; Jared Leak; Jill Bland; Ben Odom; and Leanne Skaggs. Speaker 1 said the consortium — a cross-district collaboration based in East Tennessee — brings together "highly qualified, highly capable" teachers to develop curriculum resources shared among more than 20 districts.

The board also announced district-level teachers of the year and other honorees who were present, including Lauren Wood of Jacks Creek Elementary, Madison Hopper of Westchester Elementary, and Jenny Crumley (district-level pre-K–4 teacher of the year). Speaker 1 noted that some honorees will be recognized again at the countywide end-of-service event scheduled for early or late June.

The meeting packet also listed Amy Woolley as principal of the year for Westchester; a state-level recognition name appears in the packet as "Rachel Fominous" (as transcribed). The board emphasized the recognitions as tied to broader district goals for student learning and teacher collaboration.

The board said it will note these awards again at upcoming district and county recognition events.