Two S.C. Teachers of the Year Featured in New Books

ROCK HILL, SC – July 31, 2009 –  Former South Carolina Teachers of the Year Jason Fulmer and Ann Marie Taylor have been featured in a pair of new books profiling outstanding educators.

Fulmer, the 2004 South Carolina Teacher of the Year and finalist for the nation’s top teacher honor, is featured in a chapter of J. William Towne’s Conversations with America’s Best Teachers. The book is the first in a four-part series from Inkster Publishing’s Masters of the Craft collection.

The book’s website says it “is designed to bring together the best voices in various industries, in an effort to inspire and teach others who have an interest in that career path. The bookprovides in-depth interviews with 18 National Teacher of the Year Award winners and finalists as they offer practical advice to all K-12 teachers and parents.

Fulmer, a lifelong resident of North Augusta, S.C., shares in the book why he became a teacher. He passionately says he has the opportunity to give feet to dreams and that “teachers are in the dream-developing business.”

As all beginning teachers do, Fulmer entered his first classroom at Redcliffe Elementary in Beech Island, S.C. fired up and ready to inspire. Though it was just a shabby trailer, he made the most of it. After literally turning his classroom into a beach to make it more inviting, Fulmer delved right into what would become his modus operandi—building ironclad relationships with each individual student and their parents. To spice up the lessons he incorporated a lot of music and movement. There was never a dull moment in Fulmer’s classroom as even the most apathetic students became actively engaged and learned to love school.

Today, Fulmer is the Program Director for mentoring and teacher leadership initiatives at the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, & Advancement (CERRA). His philosophy as a third grade teacher laid the foundation for his work in providing quality support experiences for beginning teachers. “Mentoring represents a very exciting opportunity to influence the entire next generation of teachers. Through the power of shared leadership, we have the opportunity to assist in the development of accomplished teachers who can provide a quality education for all students,” he said.

Taylor and Fulmer are featured in another new book, A+ Educators. The book jacket says that they are a group of among 60 teachers from across the country who are “trendsetters of the new century, using innovation, technology, and good old-fashioned common sense to deliver the best possible education to their students.”

Taylor is the 2008 S.C. Teacher of the Year and works alongside Fulmer with CERRA’s mentoring initiative. As a former special education teacher at Pine Tree Hill Elementary in Camden, S.C., she is developing a training program to address the unique needs of beginning special education teachers.

Originally from Saginaw, MI, Taylor literally packed up her car and traveled to sunny South Carolina and to Francis Marion University. There she developed a passion to help make a difference in the lives and families of special needs students. By using music in her classroom she was able to unlock many barriers that had previously prevented her student’s ability to learn. Like Fulmer, she too realized the value of cultivating relationships with her student’s families and fellow teachers.

A+ Educators is written by Randy Howe and available from The Lyons Press.

CERRA, an independent state agency located on the campus of Winthrop University, is the oldest and most established teacher recruitment program in the country. The purpose of CERRA is to provide leadership in identifying, attracting, placing and retaining well-qualified individuals for the teaching profession in South Carolina. CERRA’s programs have been adopted at school, district and state levels in more than 30 states in the United States.