LCEF Presents First McSwain Team Teacher Awards

Some of the winning educators from Deep River Elementary

November 30, 2022

The Lee County Education Foundation, with support from the Worthy Lands Trust, presented the first McSwain Team Teacher Awards to 10 outstanding Lee County elementary teaching teams Wednesday afternoon. Education Foundation board members, Board of Education member Sandra Bowen, Lee County School leadership, winning team members and their principals all attended an award reception at W.B. Wicker Elementary School.

Winning teams’ students showed exceptional growth and proficiency in their team subject. Each team member received a certificate of appreciation and a monetary award for his/her exemplary performance as an educator. Awards were presented in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade reading, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade math, 5th grade science, as well as kindergarten, 1stand 2nd grade mCLASS growth and proficiency.

“These awards are a way for more teachers to be acknowledged for their hard work, and it expands upon our Head of Class model, which awards a single school. The McSwain Awards were won this year by teachers at many different elementary schools. The awards are an opportunity for elementary teachers at every school to have a chance to gain recognition for a job well done,” says LCEF Chairman Susan Keller. “While we cannot award all of our many excellent teachers, the ones that did receive the McSwain Award today are definitely some of the best.”

LCEF Board member Kel Normann pointed out that the awards would not have been possible without the support of the Worthy Lands Trust, a trust set up by the late Ruby and Ernest McSwain that has benefitted and continues to benefit our Lee County community in major ways.

Winning teams will each have the opportunity to create a short video outlining strategies they used that contributed to their successful year. These videos will then be accessible to all teachers, so the effective strategies are shared and can be utilized by many teachers to benefit more students.

Winning teams are as follows:

3rd grade reading - Edwards Elementary: Jennifer Buckner, Candace Smith, Shannan Vaughan, Maggie Womble, Kayla Jackson, Sammie Godfrey

4th grade reading – Ingram Elementary: Abbey Francis, Yolanda Greene, Heather Mitchell, Lisa Patrick

5th grade reading – Greenwood Elementary: Jennifer Caywood, Ellice Gullett, Tanya Charron

3rd grade math – Deep River Elementary: Shanna Bailey, Renee Cotton, Cesaliegh Pena, Shannon Williams, Sara Johnson, Amanda Clemmer

4th grade math – Greenwood Elementary: Jackie Roberts, Stephanie Wilson, Jasmine Chick, Paige Langston, Charlotte Hoffler

5th grade math – Deep River Elementary: Laura Thomas, Laura Maultsby, Meredith Suitt

5th grade Science – tie - Deep River: Laura Thomas, Laura Maultsby, Edwards: Donette O’Neal

K mCLASS – BT Bullock Elementary: Brenda Battle, Kimberly Boggs, Adriana DelCastillo, Sarah Horner, Alicia Mays, Kirsten Simmons, Caitlin Tuthill

1st grade mCLASS – Greenwood Elementary: Morgan Ackers, Misty Brown, Anne Lamb, Rhonda Miller, Elizabeth Olive, Madison Potter

2nd grade mCLASS – Deep River Elementary: Olivia Burns, Katherine Holt, Barbara LeBlanc, Stephanie Reed, Mary Beth Stec, Amanda Clemmer