Education Extra
The Greater Shelby County Chamber recently recognized Shelby County’s leading students and educators for the 2016-17 school year at its Fourth Annual “Student & Educator of the Year” Luncheon. Each school in Shelby County was invited to submit a “college ready” and “career ready” Student of the Year to represent their school. The nominees were evaluated on GPA, extra-curricular activities and awards, a written response (essay) on their proposed occupation/ course of study and a letter of recommendation. The Educator of the Year candidates were nominated in two categories — elementary and secondary — by their school principals and evaluated on their philosophy of teaching, community involvement and recommendations from colleagues and school administrators. “Given that our 1,000+ investor organizations are the future employers of these students, we think it’s an important step to recognize the excellence that is taking place throughout our Shelby County classrooms at both the student and educator level,” said Chamber President & CEO Kirk Mancer. Recipients included College Ready Student of the Year Armeen Barghi from Oak Mountain High School, Career Ready Student of the Year Ben Jones from the Shelby County College and Career Center, Elementary Educator of the Year Amy Miller from Oak Mountain Intermediate and Secondary Educator of the Year Gary Griffith from the Shelby County College and Career Center. The two students each received a $1,000 cash award to continue their education and career development and the two educators each received a $750 cash award for use in their classrooms.
(L-R) Keith Brown, Chamber Chair; Gary Griffith Secondary Educator of the Year; Armeen Barghi College Ready Student of the Year; Ben Jones Career Ready Student of the Year; Elementary Educator of the Year Amy Miller and Kevin Morris, America’s First Federal Credit Union.
