Schools
Brookwood Educator Named Finalist for Teacher of the Year
Ashley Allgood of the Snellville high school is one of the six finalists for the 2014 title in Gwinnett County Public Schools.
A Brookwood High educator has been chosen as a finalist in the running for Gwinnett County Public Schools' Teacher of the Year award for 2014.
Ashley Allgood, who teaches Latin at the Snellville school, is one of the six finalists for the GCPS title. She has eight years of teaching experience, all within GCPS.
The county school system included the following about Allgood in a news release:
"Ashley Allgood admits that teaching Latin is her passion. She says, 'I believe a passionate teacher will motivate students to learn, and in turn, motivated students have a stronger desire to excel. Therefore, I share my love of Latin with all my heart every day and hope that my attitude is contagious… I know that I have been successful when a student expresses how Latin has deepened his/her understanding of life, a historical event, or a literary work. Even if my students do not continue their study of Latin in college, my hope is that my students will have an appreciation for the classical world and for learning about other languages and cultures.'
"Mrs. Allgood joined the staff at Brookwood High as a Latin teacher in 2006. She earned bachelors’ degrees in Latin and Foreign Language Education and a master’s degree in Latin from the University of Georgia."
The other five finalists are:
- Hyunjin Son, of Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology (eight years in education, all with GCPS)
- Heather Watkins, of Mulberry Elementary (13 years in education, all with GCPS)
- Stacey Dunlap, of Simpson Elementary (eight years in education, with six years with GCPS)
- Lissette McRea, of Berkmar Middle (13 years in education, with nine years with GCPS)
- Carol Williams, of Summerour Middle (13 years in education, with nine years with GCPS)
As the final element of the judging process, the selection committee will complete classroom observations and conduct interviews with the six finalists. Committee members will look for original teaching methods, study the teacher’s teaching philosophy, review special class projects the teacher has initiated, and consider the influence the teacher has had on the teaching practices of his/her colleagues. They also will review each teacher’s educational degrees and civic activities.
Three of these six finalists will be designated as the elementary, middle, and high school teachers of the year. The Elementary School TOTY, Middle School TOTY, and High School TOTY will be announced the evening of the banquet Nov. 7 at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth. The district winner will be selected from among the three level winners and will go on to represent GCPS in the Georgia TOTY competition.
Gwinnett’s Teacher of the Year will receive an annual award of $1,000 and the other level winners will each receive $750 each year, for as long as they are employed with GCPS. The finalists will receive a one-time award of $500, and each local school winner will receive a one-time award of $200.
All 130 Teachers of the Year will be recognized at the Nov. 7th banquet and receive recognition from area companies that continue to make this celebration of outstanding teaching possible. Those sponsors include Balfour; Coca-Cola Refreshments; Emtec; Gwinnett County Public Schools Foundation Fund, Inc.; Peach State Federal Credit Union; Hayes Chrysler Dodge Jeep; IBM; Kemper Preferred Insurance; Kroger; Lifetouch School Photography and Yearbooks; Mellon; MetLife; J. Smith Lanier & Co.; and VALIC.
From Gwinnett County Public Schools
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