Joey Hill of McDowell High School Named MCS Teacher of the Year

Superintendent Tracy Grit is pleased to announce that Joey Hill has been selected as the 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year for McDowell County Schools. Mr. Hill is on staff at McDowell High School. Additionally, Lynn Freeman has been named Elementary Teacher of the Year. Ms. Freeman teaches fifth grade at Pleasant Gardens Elementary School. Mr. Hill was all smiles upon the news and was happy to celebrate with his students. Hill shared, “It has been a joy to return to McDowell County to teach at my alma mata and to share with the young people of my first and dearest home whatever good I have gained during my travels. My colleagues at McDowell County Schools remind me by their passion, knowledge, wisdom, and love that ours is a high calling, and my students remind me that the world is full of love and light. For the warm welcome home and for the opportunity to represent our district's educators, I thank McDowell County Schools. My gratitude to my colleagues and students is boundless. Teaching is the best job in the world.”

Assistant Superintendent Crystal Hamby and Brian Oliver, Amy Dowdle, Executive Director of Human Resources, and Edwin Spivey, Executive Director of Secondary Schools, visited McDowell High School and Pleasant Gardens Elementary today to announce it in front of Mr. Hill’s and Ms. Freeman’s students and colleagues. All 14 school winners were honored at the annual Teacher of the Year Celebration last night at First Baptist Church. Hamby 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 meticulously selects a school winner each year as part of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Teacher of the Year process.  Each school winner then undergoes a comprehensive evaluation based on a professional portfolio, classroom observation, and an interview with the district selection committee. This rigorous process culminates in the district honoring an Elementary and a Secondary Teacher of the Year. One of those two exceptional educators was selected as the MCS Teacher of the Year and will represent the district at the regional level.

Mr. Hill was a recipient of the North Carolina Teacher Fellows Scholarship. He earned his BA in Secondary English Education with an endorsement in French from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mr. Hill did an extensive graduate and post-baccalaureate study in literature, writing, and pedagogy at numerous institutions, including Middlebury’s Bread Loaf School of English; University of North Carolina, Charlotte; University of California Berkeley; University of California; Los Angeles; Stanford University; and the University of Edinburgh. Mr. Hill has taught at North Mecklenburg High School, Huntersville, NC; McAteer High School, San Francisco, California; and McDowell High School. Ms. Bennett, principal of McDowell High, shares, “Mr. Hill is a truly exceptional teacher who transforms minds through innovative teaching strategies and activities, inspires hearts to love English through creativity, and nurtures souls through meaningful relationships.  McDowell High School is very fortunate to have Mr. Hill, who is a vital part of our Titan Team.”

Ms. Freeman began her career in education as a Teacher Assistant in 2002 at North Cove Elementary. In 2009, Ms. Freeman graduated from Mars Hill College with an elementary education degree. That same year, Ms. Freeman became the Title I teacher at North Cove Elementary. In 2013, Ms. Freeman came to Pleasant Gardens Elementary as a fourth-grade teacher and moved to fifth grade in 2021. Ms. Freeman is a National Board Certified Teacher and has obtained her k-12 Reading Specialist Certification.  Freeman shared, “I am truly humbled at this honor, as being a teacher has been my lifelong dream. I have always believed teaching is a calling and a privilege. It is so rewarding to see former students as they grow and achieve their dreams and think that I might have played a part in encouraging their success. Every day, I am blessed to work alongside some of the very best educators whose goal is to inspire confidence and knowledge in our students. Teaching is constantly changing, but our common purpose has remained the same: to provide opportunities for learning so that every student can be successful in life. I am honored and blessed to be Elementary Teacher of the Year.”

Mr. Hill will represent the district at the NW Regional level in November.