The highest examples of teaching excellence were on full display Tuesday night at the 2013-14 Lenoir County Public Schools teacher of the year banquet.
Katy Benton, a first grade teacher at Contentnea-Savannah K-8 School, was awarded the top honor as Lenoir County Public School’s teacher of the year.
Benton is a native of Lenoir County and a product of Lenoir County Public Schools. She attended Northeast and Bynum Elementary schools, followed by Rochelle Middle School before graduating from Kinston High School.
She went on to obtain a BA from UNC Chapel Hill and a master’s degree from ECU. She has been teaching at Contentnea-Savannah for six years.
Benton was among three finalists who had an opportunity to speak before the assembled crowd of educators Tuesday. The other finalists were LaToyha Washington, a K-3 reading teacher at Northeast, and Amy Taylor, an exceptional children teacher at Pink Hill Elementary.
During her presentation, Benton shared a poem she wrote about growing up in Lenoir County entitled “My Village.” The poem described the impact various teachers and educators had on Benton during her childhood.
“The teachers who I encountered were the cream of the crop. They pushed me to try harder, do more, reach for the top,” Benton read.
She was followed by Washington, who described the ups and downs of being a “real teacher.”
The last finalist to present was Taylor. She talked about how teachers overcome the various challenges they face on a daily basis in order to meet the needs of their students.
Superintendent Stephen Mazingo then addressed the crowd and announced Benton was the teacher of the year.
Benton said she was excited after her name was read.
“This is where I grew up,” Benton said. “It’s an honor to get recognized.”
Mazingo had high praise for Benton after she received the award.
“She is an outstanding example of what we look for in a teacher of the year,” Mazingo said.
Contentnea-Savannah Principal Frances Herring said she was proud of Benton’s accomplishment.
“She loves the kids and the kids love her,” Herring said. “She is very deserving of the award.”
In total, 17 teachers, one from each school in the county, were recognized for their teaching performance.
Noah Clark can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Noah.Clark@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @nclark 763.
Breakout Box:
The 2013-14 LCPS Teachers of the Year for each school:
Bobbi Arnette, Southwood Elementary School
Misty Barker, Woodington Middle School
Wanda Barnes, North Lenoir High School
Katy Benton, Contentnea-Savannah
Qiana Chapman, Rochelle Middle School
Belinda Coleman, Southeast Elementary School
Kathryn Griffin, Banks Elementary School
Meredith Gurely, Teachers memorial Pre-K
David Jenkins, LC Early College
Valerie Jones, Moss Hill Elementary School
Mary Beth Kalencki, Soth Lenoir High School
Bobby Sherrad, E.B. Frink Middle School
Rachel Singer, Northwest Elementary School
Gwen Smith, La Grange Elementary School
Amy Taylor, Pink Hill Elementary School
LaToyah Washington, Northeast Elementary School
James Wynn, Lenoir County Learning Academy