Interim Superintendent Brian Oliver is pleased to announce that MaryAnn Basney has been selected as the 2023-2024 Teacher of the Year for McDowell County Schools. Ms. Basney is on staff at East McDowell Middle School. Additionally, Tina Flynn has been named Elementary Teacher of the Year. Ms. Flynn teaches third grade at Glenwood Elementary School. Ms. Basney was all smiles upon the news and was happy to celebrate with her students. She shared “I am so incredibly honored to be recognized as the McDowell County Teacher of the Year. I simply do not have words.”

 

Interim Superintendent Oliver and members of the district staff visited East mcDowell MIddle School and Glenwood Elementary today to make the announcements in front of Ms. Basney’s and Ms. Flynn’s students and colleagues. All of the 15 school winners were honored at the annual Teacher of the Year Celebration last night at Glenwood Baptist Church. Oliver shared with the guests at the event, “Everyone here is worthy of this honor. I want all of you to enjoy tonight’s celebration because, no matter who is announced tomorrow, you are all deserving.”

 

The faculty at each school in the district selects a school winner each year as part of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Teacher of the Year process.  Each school winner is then judged based on professional portfolio, classroom observation, and an interview with the district selection committee. The district honors an Elementary and a Secondary Teacher of the Year. One of those two is selected as the MCS Teacher of the Year and represents the district at the Regional level.

 

Ms. Basney earned her BS degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Special Education from Western Carolina University in 2013, with minors in Math and Psychology. She attained licensure as a Math teacher later that summer and joined the staff at East Middle as an Inclusion and Resource teacher. Ms. Basney was named the 2019-2020 Secondary Teacher of the Year. She currently teaches 8th Grade Math. She shared “I love what I do and where I work. My students help me to be the best version of myself every single day and I am so proud of what they accomplish.  Our county is FULL of wonderful educators and I am privileged to represent McDowell County.”

 

Ms. Flynn began her teaching career in 2000 as a third grade teacher with Henderson County Schools. After moving to Indiana, Ms. Flynn taught Title I Reading, first, second, third, and fourth grades. Ms. Flynn earned her degree from the University of North Carolina at Asheville with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and K-6 Elementary Education Licensure. She shared “I am honored and humbled to be recognized among so many outstanding teachers in McDowell County and my colleagues at Glenwood Elementary.  I am so proud to be a small part of the great things we collectively do for the kids in our school system.”

 

Ms. Basney will represent the district at the NW Regional level in November.