Hanna Hanlin named DCSD Teacher of the Year
Hanna Hanlin, center, is joined by DCSD Superintendent Dr. Eddie Ingram (left), DCSD Board of Education Chair Connell Delaine and Principal of Pate Elementary Emily Lunn (far right). Photo by Jana E. Pye
By Jana E. Pye, Editor, editor@newsandpress.net
When the award for the Darlington County District Teacher of the Year 2016-17 was announced last week as Hanna Hanlin, no one at the district’s annual Teacher of the Year banquet was more excited than her mother, fellow teacher Julie Hanlin. “She’s a great teacher, a great person, and a great daughter,” said Julie. “I cannot be more proud!” Hanna is a second grade teacher at Pate Elementary School in Darlington, and was awarded the coveted honor on Monday, September 19 at Black Creek Arts Council in Hartsville.
The district also awarded the Outstanding First Year Teacher honor to Andrew Walters, a third grade teacher at Carolina Elementary School in Hartsville.
Outstanding First Year Teacher Andrew Walters, center, with Warren Jeffords (left) and Connell Delaine (right) of DC Board of Education . Photos by Jana E. Pye
Each of the district’s Teacher of the Year honorees were recognized at the banquet for their outstanding achievements providing innovative and exemplary teaching experiences for their students. The top five Honor Roll Teachers underwent a long process of judging which included a video, interview by a panel of judges, and essay.
Hanlin, who has been teaching for five years, began her career at the Thornwell School for the Arts as a fifth grade teacher. “I now teach a multi-grade classroom at Pate Elementary, and I love it,” she said. “We have forty students in the class, which sounds like a lot, but I have another teacher and a teacher’s assistant in the room. I love what I do, and I am thrilled to be able to represent our district this year.”
Hanlin is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, and earned a Masters in Educational Technology from Lesley University. She is an Apple Foundations trainer, an iTunesU Curator, an Apple Vanguard, a Google Certified Educator, and she is a Schoology Master Trainer. She is a frequent presenter at district and state level workshops on technology in the classroom.
As the District Teacher of the Year, Hanlin will serve as the District’s Teacher Forum chair elect, and will compete for the South Carolina Teacher of the Year title.
The DCSD 2016-17 Outstanding First Year Teacher Award recipient Andrew Walters is a third grade teacher who teaches English/language arts and social studies at Carolina Elementary School. He was chosen from three finalists, Ashleigh Chaplin from Pate Elementary School, and Kristen Johnson from Darlington High School. Finalists were all chosen for their accomplishments as first year teachers.
The 2016-17 Honor Roll Teachers are:
• Jessie Addison, first grade, St. John’s Elementary School
• Kimberly Edgerton, kindergarten, Cain Elementary School
• Michelle Greene, Math, Lamar High School
• Ellen Oldland, fourth grade, Thornwell School For The Arts
The 2016-17 School Teachers of the Year are:
• Shanita Godfrey, fifth grade, Brockington Elementary Magnet School
• Brittany Johnson, fifth grade, Brunson-Dargan Elementary School
• Sarah Andrews, exceptional education, Carolina Elementary School
• Dennis Johnson, auto mechanics, Darlington County Institute of Technology
• Col. Johnny Pierce, JROTC, Darlington County Intervention School
• Blaire Goodson, English, Darlington High School
• Aisha Pendergrass, Math, Darlington Middle School
• Kari Wilcox, English, Hartsville High School
• Sara Douglas, Science, Hartsville Middle School
• Tina Dinkins, first grade, Lamar Elementary School
• Christopher Pietrzak, Physical Education, Mayo High School for Math, Science & Technology
• Brianna “Bree” Spivey, third grade, North Hartsville Elementary School
• Leslie Starling, first grade, Rosenwald Elementary/Middle School
• Brittanie Tyson, kindergarten, Southside Early Childhood Center
• Shydara Campbell, third grade, Spaulding Elementary School
• Christa Henderson, English/Language Arts, Spaulding Middle School
• Jordan Weatherford, first grade, Washington Street Elementary School
• Scott Bullard, Music, West Hartsville Elementary School