Sonya Kiser named 2006 Teacher of the Year North Johnston High School English teacher wins Flame for Learning award SMITHFIELD-A decision made in the seventh grade garnered county-wide attention at this year's Flame for Learning Banquet held Monday, May 1st, at the Country Club of Johnston County. North Johnston High School teacher Sonya Kiser decided in the seventh grade that she would one day become an English teacher. Johnston County school administrators are glad she did. Kiser was named the 2006 Flame for Learning Teacher of the Year. "In the seventh grade, I fell in love with diagramming sentences and I have always loved to read. It was then that I knew I wanted to be a teacher," Kiser said. Kiser was a North Carolina Teaching Fellow who earned her B.A. in English from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. She went on to earn her Master's Degree from Wake Forest University and has since become National Board Certified. "My favorite part of teaching is the interaction that I have with the students. My second favorite part is sharing my passion for English and literature with my students," Kiser commented. Kiser has been reaching out to students at North Johnston High School, where she has taught for the past 10 years. Prior to that, Kiser taught for four years at South Johnston High School, where she is an alumna. "We cannot think of anyone more deserving. Sonya is a great example of the tremendous faculty and staff we have at North Johnston High School," said Principal Ross Renfrow. "She has a passion for teaching that never ceases. We congratulate her on this wonderful honor." Kiser's family is no stranger to Johnston County Schools either. Her dad, Bill Ellis, is the Career and Technical Education VOCATS Coordinator for the county and brother Jarvis is an assistant principal at North Johnston High, where Kiser teaches. Kiser will receive a cash award of $1,000 for being named this year's Teacher of the Year. The Johnston County Education Foundation will award her $500 and Kiser's school will receive $250. Kiser was selected from a pool of 300 nominations. Each teacher that was nominated was asked to submit a "best practice" that he or she uses in the classroom. A selection committee named 20 semi-finalists of which three were named finalists and one was the recipient. The three finalists*Julie Brown, who teaches Science at West Johnston High School, Lee Hudson who teaches Civics at West Johnston, and Bethany Rogers, a fourth grade teacher at Benson Elementary school-- will receive $300 each; the 16 semi-finalists will receive $100 each and the schools of the three finalists will also receive $250. "I was honored to be a finalist and even more honored and stunned to be the recipient of this award," Kiser commented. "I'm ecstatic that the interview committee felt I was deserving."
