Teacher of the Year finalists announced for the Charter Institute at Erskine
July 23, 2018
Eight teachers from schools across the Palmetto state have been announced as finalists for the Charter Institute at Erskine’s Teacher of the Year award. The winner will be crowned at a luncheon on August 3 at the Capital City Club in Columbia.
The following teachers were named Teacher of the Year at their respective schools for the 2017-2018 school year: Anne Brown (Royal Live Oaks Academy); Felicia Butler (Coastal Leadership Academy); Cassandra Eckstorm (Cyber Academy of South Carolina- High School), Porsche Foxworth (Mevers School of Excellence); Edith Gamble (Midlands STEM Institute); Kristin Kerns (Cyber Academy of South Carolina- Elementary); Tracy Ruetterman (Odyssey Online Learning); and Sherri Whitlock (Cyber Academy of South Carolina- Middle).
Brown received a bachelor’s degree from New York University and a master’s degree from the College of Staten Island. She has over 50 years of experience in the classroom and has served as a special education teacher at Royal Live Oaks for the past three years.
Butler obtained a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina and a master’s degree from Coastal Carolina University. She has spent her two-plus year career at Coastal Leadership Academy where she teaches social studies and math. She also served as head of the social studies department last year.
Eckstorm earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina and a master’s degree from Francis Marion University. She has a total of 20 years teaching experience and has served as a math teacher for the past three years at the high school level of Cyber Academy of SC.
Foxworth received a bachelor’s degree from South Carolina State University and a master’s degree from Concordia University. She has spent one year at Mevers School of Excellence and has 15 years of experience in elementary education.
Gamble earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from South Carolina State University. She has spent two of her three years teaching second grade at Midlands STEM Institute.
Kerns obtained a bachelor’s degree from Coastal Carolina University and a master’s degree from Wilmington University. She has 13 years of teaching experience and has served as fifth grade English Language Arts teacher for the past two years at Cyber Academy of South Carolina- Elementary.
Ruetterman received a bachelor’s degree from Francis Marion University and a master’s degree from Concordia University. She has nearly eight years of experience in the classroom and will begin her second year at Odyssey Online Learning this fall.
Whitlock earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of South Carolina. She has spent 25 years in the classroom and one year at Cyber Academy of South Carolina- Middle.
180-year-old Erskine College established the Charter Institute at Erskine in mid-2017 in efforts of providing a vehicle to improve education in public charter schools across the state of South Carolina. The Institute will serve as sponsor of 13 schools for the 2018-2019 school year. For more information, please visit www.erskinecharters.org.
