Southside teacher a Teacher of the Year finalist
by September 22, 2010 10:57 am 164 views
Oretha Faye Ferguson, a 10th-grade English teacher at Southside High School in Fort Smith, is one of 14 teachers have been named regional finalists for the 2011 Arkansas Teacher of the Year competition, according to a release from the Arkansas Department of Education.
All finalists will be celebrated at the second annual Arkansas Teacher of the Year Gala at the Governor’s Mansion on Nov. 12, which will be televised live by Today’s THV 11. At that time, the three runners-up and the winner will be named.
The regional finalists are:
Blair Ballard, a fourth-grade teacher at Walnut Ridge Elementary School in the Lawrence County School District
Vickie Beene, an 11th-grade English teacher at Nashville High School in the Nashville School District
Julie Boyd, a second grade teacher at Hurricane Creek Elementary School in the Bryant School District
Jeannette Dempsey, an Environmental and Spatial Technology teacher and a kindergarten Spanish teacher at College Hill Elementary IB World School in the Texarkana School District
Oretha Faye Ferguson, a 10th-grade English teacher at Southside High School in the Fort Smith School District
Karen S. Hart, a high school biology teacher at Jonesboro High School in the Jonesboro School District
Kristy Parish, a kindergarten teacher at Westside Elementary School in the Searcy School District
Mary Katherine Parson, a high school biology teacher at Central High School in the Little Rock School District
Kathy A. Powers, a fifth- and sixth-grade teacher at Raymond and Phyllis Simon Intermediate School in the Conway School District
Therese Thompson, a fifth-grade teacher at John Tyson Elementary School in the Springdale School District
Rebecca Vaughn, a kindergarten teacher at Wedlock Elementary School in the West Memphis School District
Maryann Walker, a third grade teacher at M.A. Hardin Elementary School in the White Hall School District
Carolyn Whisenant, a kindergarten teacher at Mountain Home Kindergarten in the Mountain Home School District
Emily Kathryn White, a kindergarten teacher at Monticello Elementary School in the Monticello School District
Grant money is provided by the Walton Family Foundation, and each of the finalists will receive $1,000, with the Arkansas Teacher of the Year receiving an additional $14,000.
In addition to Walton Family Foundation and Today’s THV 11, major sponsors for the event are: SMARTer Kids Foundation, Blue Bell Creameries, Delta Dental of Arkansas and Entergy Arkansas.