On Nov. 8, the Brown County Teacher Inservice was held at Western Brown High School. This was the 49th inservice. The speaker at the inservice was Jim Mahoney. He is an Assistant Professor of Practice for Ohio University, Voinovich School and educator in residence for Buckeye Association of School Administrators. After Professor Mahoney’s presentation the teachers of the year from each of the six public schools in Brown County were introduced. Here are the six teachers and some of what was said about them.
The Eastern Local Teacher of the Year nominee is Mrs. Veronica Beucler. Mrs. Beucler has been a member of the Eastern Family for 27 years. She attended Southern State Community College, earning her Associates Degree in Elementary Education in 1993. She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree from Northern Kentucky University. From 1996-2002, Mrs. Beucler taught third grade self-contained classrooms at Russellville Elementary. In 2002 she moved to 4th grade Math and Science where she taught for 12 years. She is currently teaching third grade Math and Science, still at Russellville Elementary. In addition to her teaching career Mrs. Beucler is a member of The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
The Fayetteville-Perry Teacher of the Year Award nominee is Ms. Salli Swisher
Salli attended Morehead State University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education in 1993. In 2014 she obtained her Masters of Arts in Teaching and Learning with a specialization in reading from Nova Southeastern University.
Ms. Swisher started her teaching career in East Haven, CT. in 1993 at Magic Years Preschool. In 1994 she relocated to Ohio and took a position at Lynchburg Clay Elementary teaching Kindergarten, where she stayed for five years. Salli has been teaching Kindergarten at Fayetteville Elementary since 1999. Salli has been a member of many committees and teams during her time at Fayetteville Elementary.
Southern Hills Career and Technical Center Teacher of the Year Award nominee is Mrs. Ainsley Arnold. In 2016 Mrs. Arnold received her Bachelors of Arts in English and Strategic Communication from The Ohio State University. She went on to receive her Masters of Education in 2018 from Xavier University and is currently working toward her Masters of Education in English, with the expectation of graduating in the Summer of 2022.
Ainsley has been with Southern Hills Career & Technical Center for 4 years. She is our Junior English, Senior English, and CCP English educator.
Ainsley is currently a BLT Member, Member and Temporary leader of PBIS, the Sunshine Committee Leader, and National Technical Honor Society, Co-Advisor. On a side note, I was Ainsley’s Mentor Teacher her first year. She is an outstanding teacher and Southern Hills is lucky to have her.
Mrs. Rochelle Massey was selected as the 2021-2022 RULH Teacher of the Year Mrs. Massey is an outstanding teacher who has taught for 30 years. She began her career serving nine years as a preschool teacher at the Brown County Educational Service Center. At RULH Elementary, Mrs. Massey taught kindergarten for 15 years and for the past six years served as a Title One reading teacher.
The Georgetown Exempted Village School teacher of the year award nominee is Mrs. Amanda Johnson. Amanda attended two years of college at the College of Mount St. Joseph then transferred to the University of Rio Grande. In 2005 she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education, with her concentrations in Math and Language Arts. While attending the University of Rio Grande, Amanda was voted the top student in her major by her professors. Mrs. Johnson went on to further her education to obtain her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Cincinnati in 2009. Striving for more, she went on to earn her Master Teacher Designation in 2015. Mrs. Johnson began her teaching career at Bethel-Tate Middle School in 2005 where she taught 6th grade math, 8th grade math, and Algebra I. In 2013 she began teaching at Georgetown Jr./Sr. High School Teaching Math and Algebra to 7th, 8th & 9th grade students. She is currently teaching 7th grade Math.
The Western Brown Teacher of the Year nominee is Mrs. Andi Vance.
Andi graduated from Xavier University with her Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education in 2001. In 2004 she graduated with her masters of Science in Curriculum and Instruction from Nova Southeastern University. Mrs. Vance began her teaching career at Mt. Orab Elementary and has been there for the past 20 years. She taught 4th grade for eight years. She then spent 6 years as a 3rd and 4th grade looping teacher. Andi has been a 3rd grade teacher for the past 6 years. Mrs. Vance believes that all students must be provided with a safe learning environment where they feel free to explore and deepen their learning experiences. In her classroom, the emotional curriculum is just as important as the academic curriculum. She encourages her students to be curious, to explore all subjects, and to love the act of learning. Mrs. Vance provides her students with opportunities for cooperative learning, hands-on learning, as well as experiences, projects, and individual work that engages and activates student engagement. Andi strives to make her classroom a place where students love to learn but also love to be.
Each teacher was given $250 to use in their classrooms by First State Bank, and the winning teacher was given $1000. The Teacher of the Year for Brown County was Salli Swisher of Fayetteville Perry.