Sampson County Schools is pleased to announce its finalists for the Sampson County 2025-2026 Teacher of the Year (TOY). Through a nomination process, each of the 18 Sampson County schools selects a classroom teacher to represent their school as Teacher of the Year. These 18 teachers advance to the county level. A panel of community members and school personnel reviews and interviews each school’s teacher of the year and selects one as the system’s overall Teacher of the Year.

A Teacher of the Year represents exemplary performance as a member of the teaching staff for Sampson County Schools. Such performance can be characterized by classroom excellence, civic involvement, contributions to the teaching profession, positive interpersonal skills, and demonstrated interest in the lives of children and youth.

Brenda Nordin, SCS director of teacher support, commented, “All of our teachers of the year were awesome during their interviews. Such great things are going on in our classrooms. All teachers shared their passion for teaching, and strategies they used to emphasize family involvement, incorporating culturally relevant teaching, advice they would share with others who may want to become a teacher, and so much more! Sampson County Schools is blessed to have such dedicated teachers in our classrooms.”

The county-level finalists chosen from the 18 are Summerlyn Faircloth, Hayley Johnson, Tiffany Starling, and Courtney Stroud. One of these finalists will be announced later in May as the Sampson County Schools 2025-2026 Teacher of the Year. The county TOY will advance to the regional level, representing 11 other counties in the Sandhills region. A regional TOY is selected to advance to the state-level TOY.

Summerlyn Faircloth headshot
Summerlyn Faircloth is a Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher at Lakewood High School. She began her teaching career at Union Middle School in 2003 as a CTE Business teacher. In 2005, she transferred to Lakewood High School and has been teaching there since. Summerlyn has also served as the Career Development Coordinator and Special Populations Coordinator for both Lakewood and Sampson County Schools.

Hayley Johnson headshot
Hayley Johnson is a Kindergarten teacher at Union Elementary School. She began her teaching career at Union Elementary as a kindergarten teacher in 2015, transitioned to a pre-kindergarten teacher in 2019, and transitioned back to a kindergarten teacher in 2022. She is a member of the school improvement team, the skills alignment action team, and is co-chair of the hospitality committee at Union Elementary. Hayley earned her Bachelor of Arts in Education of Young Children from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Tiffany Starling headshot
Tiffany Starling is a math teacher at Sampson Early College High School. She began her teaching career as a substitute teacher with Cumberland County Schools in 2013. At Sampson Early College, Tiffany serves as the school’s Glee Club Advisor, Bible Club Advisor, Pageant Co-Coordinator, and other school committees. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education in Mathematics from Fayetteville State University, graduating Summa Cum Laude.

Courtney Stroud headshot
Courtney Stroud is a math teacher at Midway High School. She began her teaching career in 2013 as an eighth-grade math teacher at Coats Erwin Middle School and transferred in 2016 to Midway High School. Courtney serves as the school’s Beta Club Co-Sponsor, AIG Co-Sponsor, and a school mentor with the beginning teacher program. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Middle Grades Education with a math license in grades sixth through ninth. Courtney is a certified teacher recognized by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in mathematics and also holds a certification in Academically & Intellectually Gifted (AIG).

SAMPSON COUNTY’S SCHOOL-LEVEL TEACHERS OF THE YEAR

Clement Elementary - Lindsay Moore
Hargrove Elementary - Samantha Garner
Hobbton Elementary - Beth Trujillo
Hobbton Middle - Carla Taylor
Hobbton High - Greg Waters
Lakewood High - Summerlyn Faircloth
Midway Elementary - Carol Raines
Midway Middle - Cori Boes
Midway High - Courtney Stroud
Plain View Elementary - Michelle Warren
Roseboro Elementary - Chris Pittman
Roseboro-Salemburg Middle - Jennifer Gemma
Salemburg Elementary - Jessica Kama
Sampson Early College High - Tiffany Starling
Union Elementary - Hayley Johnson
Union Intermediate - Gabrielle Corbett
Union Middle - Tasha Martinez
Union High - Daniel Rishworth

For over 50 years, our nation has honored teachers with the National Teacher of the Year Program. The National Teacher of the Year program, sponsored by Voya Financial, Inc., is a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers. Since 1970, North Carolina has participated in this program, recognizing outstanding teachers.

NORTH CAROLINA TEACHER OF THE YEAR PROGRAM

In 2013, the NC Department of Public Instruction announced its partnership with Burroughs Wellcome Fund as the new major sponsor of the North Carolina Teacher of the Year Program. The Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) is an independent private foundation dedicated to advancing the biomedical sciences by supporting research and other scientific and educational activities. Within this broad mission, BWF seeks to help scientists early in their careers develop as independent investigators and to advance fields in the biomedical sciences that are undervalued or in need of particular encouragement. BWF was founded in 1955 as the corporate foundation of Burroughs Wellcome Co., the U.S. branch of the Wellcome pharmaceutical enterprise, based in the United Kingdom. In 1993, BWF received a $400 million gift from the Wellcome Trust to become a fully independent foundation.

About the Program

In accordance with national guidelines, North Carolina chooses a candidate who is "dedicated and highly skilled, a candidate proven capable of inspiring students of all backgrounds and abilities to learn." Because the State Teacher of the Year will be asked to travel, speak on behalf of education, and demonstrate master teaching skills, the candidate must be poised, articulate, and energetic to meet the demanding responsibilities.

The NC Teacher of the Year is recognized at the school, regional, and statewide levels. First, the teacher is chosen to represent their respective school as Teacher of the Year. Similarly, individual public charter schools nominate a Teacher of the Year who participates in a selection process facilitated by the Office of Charter Schools at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Next, once each school district and the charter school nomination processes are completed, the teacher finalists vie as one of the state’s nine Regional Teachers of the Year. The state is divided into eight geographical regions, and NC Charter Schools are clustered together to form a ninth region in the state. The Charter School Teacher of the Year joins the Regional Teachers of the Year team as a finalist for the state Teacher of the Year. This selection process is facilitated in each region by regional education facilitators.

After a series of relevant screening activities, the state Teacher of the Year is chosen by a committee of professional educators and business and community leaders. The state selection committee members are chosen based on their dynamic public record supporting education. The State Teacher of the Year and the other regional Finalists form a collaborative network to provide services and support throughout the state on critical issues that face public education. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education take pride in celebrating the most innovative and effective public school educators in our state.

Hobbton High School