Teacher of the Year relate, encourage, value, challenge and engage their students.

Schools across Berkeley County announced their selections for 2019-20 Teacher of the Year. Congratulations to these outstanding educators serving Daniel Island School, Cainhoy Elementary, Philip Simmons Elementary, Philip Simmons Middle, and Philip Simmons High School. The teachers will be considered for District Teacher of the Year and will serve on Berkeley County’s Teacher Forum as representatives for their schools.  
 
Stephanie Donley
Daniel Island School
 
When Stephanie Donley graduated from high school, she received a gift that ultimately influenced her career path. Dr. Seuss provided enlightenment in his book, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go.” The lines in the book that shifted Donley’s outlook were, “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” 
She elaborated, “This quote led me to follow my heart to be a teacher. I wanted to make a difference in the future of our country and in the hearts and minds of children. After 21 years of teaching, I have not regretted that decision for a minute.”
 
Donley teaches third grade English/Language Arts and Social Studies at Daniel Island School. In her classroom, students are engaged in a variety of meaningful and motivating learning tasks. Lessons may include group work, choice boards, robotics, and engineering. She aims to create a respectful environment in which the students are actively learning, celebrating, and encouraging each other.   
 
She said, “Students work in flexible seating around the room with quiet music playing and soft lighting. Some students are learning through Chromebooks while others use textbooks, multi-media resources, or hands-on visuals. Students are encouraged to take risks and learn from them while thinking outside of the box.” 
 
The biggest challenge for Donley is keeping up with the new technology. “Technology in the classroom is rapidly evolving and changing, and it isn’t slowing down any time soon,” she said.
 
Donley strives to make meaningful connections as a teacher. “I am proud of the fact that I connect with all of my students. When students know their teacher genuinely cares about them, they are more motivated to learn. I get to know my students’ interests, likes, dislikes, and about their families. Because I make strong connections, my students want to succeed and work hard. Showing students you truly care is the rainbow that leads to them being successful in school,” she said.
 
In her veteran years of teaching, Donley now refers to a quote from another wise leader, Nelson Mandela, to stay motivated: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
 
Taylor South
Philip Simmons High School
 
Walk into Taylor South’s classroom on a typical day and the first thing you’ll see is creativity with kids in constant motion. She encourages her students to engage “creatively in terms of their thinking, how they approach things both in and out of the classroom, making strategies to solve problems, and to make things and people better.” 
 
Thinking outside of the box is key for South’s teaching philosophy. Her motivation comes from Aristotle’s quote, “To educate the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” 
 
She added, “It is so easy to make education robotic, but to me, the pros of mechanized learning just do not outweigh the cons. I aim to educate the whole person. What good is all of this knowledge if you do not know how to be human? Only after we learn what it means to be human, can education have a meaningful impact.”
 
South said she always knew she wanted to be a teacher. Even as a young student, she wanted to support kids who didn’t learn in the same ways. She aimed to become the teacher that she had always needed but rarely found. “It became really important to me to help kids love thinking,” she said.
 
South has enjoyed her time in the classroom during the last six years. She has a Bachelor’s degree in English, Speech & Drama from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She also earned a Master’s of Arts in Teaching through the Citadel.
 
“The best part about teaching,” South remarked, “is how much I continue to learn, both through my students and through our experiences. There are so many possibilities within this profession: to try new things, to help others, to have an impact. This is not a job with instant gratification; it can take years to see the results of your efforts. But if you have the patience, it is worth it and you have made a connection for life.” 
 
Outside of the classroom, South enjoys a good culinary scene — either experimenting in the kitchen or trying new restaurants. She takes advantage of every opportunity to travel, and appreciates the theater and a good book. 
 
Suzette Coors
Philip Simmons Middle School
 
Suzette Coors says that teaching is her lifelong passion and greatest joy in life. 
 
In her seventh grade Language Arts classes at Philip Simmons Middle, Coors strives “to create an inclusive classroom community in which each learner’s voice is honored and valued.” She added, “I am equally passionate about designing authentic learning opportunities that challenge my students to think critically, consider diverse perspectives, and collaborate with their peers and local community members to make a positive impact on the world around them.”
 
Students are encouraged to be innovators when they land in Coors’ classroom. Every day looks different as Coors works to incorporate the passions, preferences, and interests of each student into the learning experience. Every individual student has a unique way of learning. She said building relationships with students helps to engage everyone and leads to a powerful learning experience. “I believe that innovative learning experiences become transformative when students are provided with multiple pathways to interpret information, explain their perspectives, share their voices, and apply their learning in ways that influence positive change,” she said.
 
Her favorite quote, by Rita F. Pierson, is one that aligns with her professional values. “Every child deserves a champion; an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best they can possibly be.” This motivates her to press through the challenging moments of teaching, to commit to advocacy for every child, and to channel the power of connection. 
 
Coors said, “I often tell my students that they inspire me in ways they may not even realize, and the fundamental reason that I continue to pour my heart and mind into each day as their teacher is to aid them on their journey of discovering their passions, talents and abilities, and ultimately, their purpose in life.” 
 
Coors began her teaching career in 2016 during Philip Simmons Middle’s inaugural year. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia and participated in an intensive Middle Grades Education Program. A self-described lifelong learner, Coors continually looks for new ideas that will have a positive impact on her teaching practices. 
 
In her spare time, she enjoys visiting family, spending time with friends, walking on the beach, riding her bike, trying a new recipe, and taking time to reflect, read, and journal.
 
Analyn Haynes
Philip Simmons Elementary School
 
Education has always been important to Analyn Hayes. “Having grown up in the Philippines until I was 8 years old, I am very familiar of what happens when you are not educated. School was not free but a privilege in the Philippines,” she said. 
 
As a student, she was a competitive rule follower who worked hard to make sure she was at the top of her class. As a child from a military family, her parents served as her role models. Teaching became a natural path for Hayes. “I was always good at explaining concepts to my classmates. I enjoyed helping my teachers grade our papers and leading a tutoring class for my trigonometry class in high school,” she said.
 
Hayes is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a Master’s in Elementary Education and has taught for 16 years. 
 
At Philip Simmons Elementary, she teaches two classes: fourth grade all content areas and fourth grade gifted and talented classes.
 
Teaching brings adventure and a new experience every day. Haynes stated, “I love finding new challenges for my students and seeing their eyes light up when they understand or see the bigger picture. I love planning lessons and projects that bring social studies and science to life. I enjoy learning from colleagues and bouncing around ideas for lessons and activities with teachers who also think outside the box.” 
 
A day in her classroom involves a lot of activity: students are on their Chromebooks planning projects, creating videos, book talking, researching, and coding. Groups of students often make their way outside the classroom to collaborate. Haynes describe it as chaotic, but it’s organized chaos.
 
Haynes believes it’s important that veteran teachers help new teachers set limits on their time and encourage life balance to prevent burn out. She said, “Teachers are seen as ones that should answer emails and be on call at all times. I didn’t really realize how time consuming, emotionally and physically draining teaching can be until I had my own family. When I first started out, teaching was everything, but now that I am married and have children, I set limits for work matters.”
 
Philip Simmons is filled with outside-the-box thinkers, makers and creators, according to Haynes. “As a teacher, I love having the freedom and support to be as creative with my curriculum. I think our school’s motto is ‘do what’s best for your students’ because that is what we do.”
 
Ashley Illig
Cainhoy Elementary School 
 
Ashley Illig earned a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of South Carolina. When her job search in archives and academia librarianship didn’t produce any viable leads, she decided to try out the school library route. Illig said that was one of the best decisions she’s ever made. 
 
She is now the Media Specialist/Librarian at Cainhoy Elementary and teaches all ages, from 3 year olds in the Head Start Program to 11-year-old fifth graders participating in daily reading groups. This is her sixth year of teaching.
 
Her library is not quiet. She strives to foster a fun environment where students learn through play, activity, and creating. When asked about her favorite teaching memories, Illig said, “It would have to be the A-HA moments that kids have when they really get something and are crazy engaged and excited. My students, especially the older ones, have seen me cry a few times when it happens.”
 
As a student, Illig described herself as a quiet rule follower who felt that good grades were important. Her fifth grade teacher and a high school science teacher were encouraging mentors. But she said the person who was most influential was “my Mimi (my grandmother) who has always inspired me to do the best I can because she has always believed in me so much.” 
 
Illig believes that teachers face a growing number of challenges today. There are “expectations from everyone — your administration, your students, parents, family, and yourself. Every year there is more and more piled on your plate – new learning, new tests, the new ‘in-style’ learning method, new co-workers,” she said. Cainhoy has an advantage of being a close-knit community — many parents were once students at the school and everyone seems to know each other.
 
When she isn’t teaching, Illig enjoys reading and spending time outdoors, hiking or camping with her husband and son. “I love exploring new places and am on a quest to visit every continent,” she added. “Gardening makes me calm and I love being able to grow my own vegetables.”

Rookie of the Year-This award  recognizes first year educators

Philip Simmons 
Elementary School
Stephanie Parnell
Second Grade Teacher
 
Daniel Island School
Grace Clark
Third Grade Teacher
 
Philip Simmons High School
Elizabeth Crance

 

Social Studies Teacher

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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