Terri Ivester, who works with kindergarten students from Anderson School District Three, was reading to children in Ryleigh Gates' class Tuesday morning when she had a surprise visitor to her classroom.
Ivester, a reading coach at Starr Elementary, was surprised with a check for $10,000 and a visit from South Carolina Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver as she was named the third of five finalists for the title of South Carolina Teacher of the Year.
"Boys and girls, I have some more exciting news, you want to hear it? She is going to get $10,000," Weaver said to the children. "And she is going to get to compete to be the state teacher of the year and if she wins, she is going to get $25,000, isn't that awesome?" she said.
"I'm so proud of her," she said to the cheers from those gathered in the classroom.
"Helping teachers is a passion of mine," Ivester told the class and officials watching Superintendent Weaver interview her.
Ivester said she had been a teacher for as long as she could remember. "I've always felt like teaching is what I wanted to do," she said.
Starr Elementary has previously had success with top teachers in the state. In May 2018, Jeffrey Maxey, a special education resource teacher at Starr Elementary, won the 2019 South Carolina Teacher of the Year award presented by Superintendent Molly Spearman.
Spartanburg, Lexington also have finalists
Taylor Carvajal of the Applied Academic Center of the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind in Spartanburg was the second teacher in the state to be surprised by Weaver during a visit to the school on Monday, March 10.
"Taylor Carvajal’s connection to her students runs deep. Inspired by her legally blind grandparents, she has spent her career ensuring blind and deaf students have the tools they need to succeed at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind," Weaver said. "Now, her dedication has earned her a spot as a finalist for South Carolina Teacher of the Year."
Lexington 4 Early Childhood Education teacher Miranda Grice was the first finalist, who was surprised on March 7.
"Before children learn to read or write, they learn to speak—and for some, that first step requires extra help," Weaver said. "Miranda Grice, a speech-language pathologist at Lexington Four Early Childhood Center, has dedicated her career to ensuring every child has a voice. Now, her impact has made her a finalist for South Carolina Teacher of the Year."
According to the South Carolina Department of Education, the South Carolina Teacher of the Year program is coordinated by the Office of Educator Services.
The program annually "identifies, recognizes, and celebrates exceptional teachers and their effective work in and outside the classroom. The teacher selected as South Carolina’s Teacher of the Year serves for one school year as a roving ambassador promoting the teaching profession and the state spokesperson for over 60,000 educators."
Last year, Braden Wilson, an eighth-grade history teacher at Palmetto Middle School in Williamston, Anderson School District One, was named South Carolina Teacher of the Year.
The winner of SC Teacher of the Year will be announced at the celebration in Columbia in April. The winner will receive $25,000 and a new BMW for the year.