Lexington One names Huggins District Teacher of the Year

LEXINGTON, SC – Lexington County School District One named River Bluff High Advanced Placement Human Geography and Law and Global Policy Development Teacher Meg H. Huggins District Teacher of the Year at its annual Teacher of the Year Celebration honoring 30 school-level Teachers of the Year. She now goes on to compete in the state-level Teacher of the Year program next year.

In her application, Huggins stated “As a teacher, the best gift I can give to my students is to continue to educate myself about strategies that best prepare them for their other classes, their lives outside of school, and their future beyond high school. What I teach isn’t nearly as significant as the people I am teaching.”

As the lead teacher of the Center for Law and Global Policy Development at River Bluff High School, Meg Huggins embodies the school’s motto of “Work Hard, Get Smart, Do Good” throughout her professional life. The past 12 years of teaching high school students was a natural evolution after growing up with parents who were both teachers and are involved in education to this day.

In 2014, Huggins was selected to participate in the Supreme Court Summer Institute for Teachers, one of 60 teachers nationwide to be involved in the hands-on interactions with writers and creators of Street Law, lawyers, judges, journalists, lobbyists, politicians, executives and other experts. She has incorporated the valuable insights gained from this experience into new perspectives, practices and methods she uses to prepare her students for their future and encourage her colleagues to reach beyond the textbook.

Huggins is adamant that collaboration between educators, including peer observation, is a strong tool for constantly improving classroom strategic success. She further pursues that success for her students by being involved in the community, supporting them in their extra-curricular activities by attending sporting events, orchestra, band and academic competitions, among other events, and networking with stakeholders in the community, many of whom she invites to speak in her classroom. Ultimately, her goal is to foster students to become controllers of their own success as self-directed learners.

As evidenced by an ever-increasing demand to enroll in her classes, she builds deep relationships based on trust in an atmosphere of engaged research and discovery. Her students soon recognize and admire the enthusiasm and determination that accompanies her in the classroom every day.

Dr. Gloria Talley, chief academic officer for Lexington One, describes Meg as a “teacher leader with a vision who helps pave the path of new initiatives, creating a safer place for others to follow.”

Huggins has a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a Master of Arts in Teaching in secondary education social studies and a Master of Education in educational leadership from the University of South Carolina. She is certified in secondary social studies, AP human geography and AP American government and as a secondary principal.

She is a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, National Council for the Social Studies, South Carolina Council for the Social Studies and South Carolina Geographic Alliance. Lead teacher for the district’s Center for Law and Global Policy Development, she is a South Carolina Teaching Fellows presenter, organizer and facilitator of lead teacher meetings, South Carolina Association of School Administrators Conference Presenter, member of the RBHS CREW Design Team, Leading Edge Online and Blended Learning Certification and leader in implementing blended learning.

How does this process work?

In September, certified staff at each Lexington One school chose a Teacher of the Year to represent their school in the 2015–2016 Teacher of the Year process and to serve on the district’s Teacher Forum for two years and represent their schools on the Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Council for one year.

Those school-level teachers of the year completed written applications, which were read by teams of judges. The applications with the top 10 scores were then judged by yet another team of judges.

From that judging process, five Lexington One teachers were named finalists for the title of District Teacher of the Year — Lexington High Special Education Teacher Christen Weidner; Lexington Middle Seventh-Grade Science Teacher Lyn Hamilton; New Providence Elementary Fourth-Grade Mathematics and Science Teacher Tanya Mabry; Pelion High Special Education Teacher Traci Holcomb and River Bluff High AP Human Geography and Law and Global Policy Development Teacher Meg Huggins. Yet another panel of judges spent a day interviewing the finalists and observing these five teachers as they taught.

The 7 p.m. celebration of all the district’s Teachers of the Year took place Tuesday, March 22, 2016, at the Lexington One Performing Arts Center located on the campus of Lexington High School.

The other Lexington One Teachers of the Year honored were Carolina Springs Elementary Spanish Teacher Michael Frank; Carolina Springs Middle Eighth-Grade English Language Arts Teacher Jason McCullough; Deerfield Elementary School Counselor Meghan Snipes; Forts Pond Elementary Fifth-Grade Teacher Jennifer Hale; Gilbert Elementary Art Teacher Angela Zokan; Gilbert High Geometry Teacher Erica Armstrong; Gilbert Middle Sixth-Grade Mathematics Teacher Jennifer Byrd; Gilbert Primary 5K Immersion Teacher Donnelle Glatz; Lake Murray Elementary Special Education Teacher Jessica Potts; Lexington Elementary Second-Grade Teacher Michelle Webster; Lexington Technology Center Culinary Arts Teacher Dan Zmroczek; Meadow Glen Elementary Physical Education Teacher Bert Williams; Meadow Glen Middle Sixth-Grade English Language Arts Teacher Heather Yordy; Midway Elementary Kindergarten Teacher Laura Morrison; Oak Grove Elementary School Counselor Kay Ross; Pelion Elementary Fourth-Grade Teacher Brooks Day; Pelion Middle Sixth-Grade English and Social Studies Teacher Kelli Shealy; Pleasant Hill Elementary Fourth-Grade Mathematics and Science Immersion Teacher Tabitha Carro; Pleasant Hill Middle Seventh-Grade Social Studies Teacher Lisa Bradley; Red Bank Elementary Fourth-Grade Teacher Lauren Vann; Rocky Creek Elementary Third-Grade Teacher Katie Crapps; Saxe Gotha Elementary Fourth-Grade Teacher Sandy Cherry; White Knoll Elementary Third-Grade Teacher Bethany Olden; White Knoll High AP Calculus Teacher Susan Scott and White Knoll Middle Eighth-Grade Social Studies Teacher Elizabeth Goodwin.