Lexington One announces Teacher of the Year finalists

Lexington County School District One proudly announces its five finalists for Lexington One District Teacher of the Year: Lexington Elementary First-Grade Teacher Jamie M. Hudson; Lexington High Mathematics Teacher Angie B. Freeman; Lexington Middle Seventh-Grade English Teacher Ivey F. Homer; Midway Elementary Physical Education Teacher Laura L. Gates and White Knoll High Mathematics Teacher Jay J. Sydow.

Jamie Hudson currently teaches first grade at Lexington Elementary with previous teaching experience that includes kindergarten and second grade. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in early childhood education and a Master of Education in divergent learning from Columbia College, Hudson began teaching at LES in 2004.

Certified in early childhood education, she also serves as LES Relay for Life co-chair and LES yearbook adviser. She is a member of the Palmetto State Teacher’s Association, S.C. State Council of the International Reading Association and Discovery Educator Network.

A veteran Lexington County public educator, Angie Freeman began teaching 31 years ago. After earning her Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from Winthrop University, she joined Airport High School in Lexington School District Two as a mathematics teacher. She worked there for 13 years before joining Lexington High School, where she teaches AP Calculus BC, Calculus Theory and Algebra 2 for all grade levels.

Freeman earned a Master of Math and her master’s plus 30 from the University of South Carolina and certifications in secondary mathematics, AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC.

She is a member of the S.C. Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Lexington District One’s Student Learning Objective Committee and district curriculum writing committees.

After starting out as a certified substitute in South Carolina, Ivey Homer joined Lexington Middle School in 2011 as an English language arts teacher. She currently teaches seventh-grade English.

Homer holds a Bachelor of Arts in middle level education with a concentration in social studies and English language arts from the University of South Carolina. She holds memberships in the Association for Middle Level Education, Palmetto State Teachers Association and the South Carolina Association of Student Councils.

Lexington District One students have enjoyed Laura Gates’s physical education classes for nearly three decades, 27 years. She began her career at Lexington Elementary, Saxe Gotha Elementary and White Knoll Elementary before coming to Midway Elementary in 2011.

Gates, a member of the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) America, South Carolina Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and Palmetto State Teachers Association, earned a Bachelor of Science in physical education and a Master of Arts in interdisciplinary studies from the University of South Carolina. She is a National Board Certified Teacher.

Finalist Jay Sydow joined White Knoll High in 2006 following eight years teaching in Minnesota at Big Lake High School and Immanuel Lutheran High School. He currently serves as the math department chair at WKHS, where he teaches mathematics to students in grades 10–12.

Sydow received his Bachelor of Science in mathematics and physics secondary education from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a Master of Education from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. and a member of the S.C. Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Sydow received certifications in the areas of AP Calculus, honors, mentoring, and Assisting, Developing, and Evaluating Professional Teaching (ADEPT).

In September, certified staff at each Lexington One school chose a Teacher of the Year to represent their school in the 2016–2017 Teacher of the Year process, to serve on the district’s Teacher Forum for two years and to represent their schools on the Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Council for one year.

The school-level teachers of the year completed written applications, which were read by teams of judges. The applications with the top 10 scores were judged by yet another team of judges. Until, finally, these five Lexington One teachers: Jamie Hudson; Angie Freeman; Ivey Homer; Laura Gates and Jay J. Sydow became finalists.

These five finalists will face still another panel of judges as they will spend a day in interviews and another day being observed by the judges as they teach.

The 7 p.m. celebration of all the district’s Teachers of the Year and the announcement of the district’s new District Teacher of the Year takes place Thursday, April 6, 2017, at the Lexington One Performing Arts Center located on the campus of Lexington High School.