Socastee special education teacher wins Horry's Teacher of the Year

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Charles Slate ? cslate@thesunnews.comBuy Photo

MYRTLE BEACH ? Jennifer Ainsworth gave credit to her classroom team, principal and students, as well as the people in her life who have never been bystanders on Monday night, as she accepted the mantle of the 2013-14 Horry County Schools Teacher of the Year, the county?s top educator honor.

Ainsworth was among five finalists honored during the district?s annual banquet at the Myrtle Beach Marriott Resort and Spa at Grande Dunes. The other finalists were Robin Hardwick, Black Water Middle School; Lindy Williams, Loris Middle School; Shannon DuBose, Ocean Bay Elementary School and Amanda Williams, River Oaks Elementary School.

Ainsworth, a special education teacher at Socastee High School, has taught for seven years, all with Horry County Schools. She has a Bachelor of Science in special education from Presbyterian College and is National Board certified.

In her acceptance speech, she talked about the influence of her grandmother and parents, who always told her she was born to work with special kids. She also held up the jacket of Miss Peggy Blaine, her assistant who recently died on April 13.

?You can see it?s worn; you can see the love of our children all over this jacket,? Ainsworth said. ?This is the Miss Peggy that helped mold me into the teacher I am tonight.?

She thanked Principal Paul Browning for taking a chance on hiring her after she unceremoniously dropped off her resume on a Friday afternoon and unknowingly gave it to him. She said her classroom is a team, and they all love what they do.

?My 14 students ? their family is my family,? Ainsworth said. ?They give me unconditional love every day.?

Teacher of the Year entrants submit written applications that cover teacher biographies, their philosophy of teaching, advocacy and evaluation of teaching techniques. Each school selects its Teacher of the Year, and 10 semifinalists are chosen for interviews before the list is narrowed to five finalists.

Each finalist undergoes a series of classroom observations by an evaluation team ? made up of teachers, district staff, former teachers of the year and principals ? which then determines the winner.

The HCS Teacher Forum, made up of former teachers of the year, also awarded three scholarships to students who are pursuing careers in education.

First-place winner was Jacquelyne Barnett from Socastee High School, who was awarded $4,000. Second place went to Stephanie Lynn Pacheco from North Myrtle Beach High School, who was awarded $2,000, and Caroline Nicole Rogers of North Myrtle Beach High School won third place, with an award of $1,000.

Contact VICKI GROOMS at 443-2401 or follow her at Twitter.com/TSN_VickiGrooms.

Source: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2013/05/06/3474093/socastee-special-education-teacher.html

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