On Tuesday, May 6, Wayne County Public Schools (WCPS) will hold a “Celebration of Excellence” to honor the WCPS 2025-2026 Assistant Principal of the Year, Principal of the Year, and Teacher of the Year, as well as the finalists for those awards programs. In addition to recognizing the school-level Teachers of the Year, WCPS will also honor its 2025 Career & Technical Education Middle & High Teachers of the Year, School Counselor of the Year, and Media Coordinator of the Year. The celebration will be held at Lane Tree Conference Center at 6 PM.
All of the district’s “of the Years” will be publicly announced for the first time at the event. With the interviews complete, finalists for the Teacher of the Year, Assistant Principal and Principal of the Year programs have already been named – one each from the elementary, middle, and high school level. They include:
Teacher of the Year – Finalists | ||||
Category | Name | School | Position | |
Elementary | Kelli Sasser | Spring Creek Elementary | K-5 Separate Setting | |
Middle | Susan Randolph | Wayne School of Engineering | 8th Science | |
High | Mark Ritcher | Wayne Early/Middle College High School | 9th-11th Grade English | |
Assistant Principal of the Year – Finalists | ||||
Category | Name | School | ||
Elementary | Laurie Keck | North Drive Elementary | ||
Middle | Charlie Davis | Norwayne Middle | ||
High | Randall Meisenhelder | Spring Creek High | ||
Principal of the Year – Finalists | ||||
Category | Name | School | ||
Elementary | Karla Smith | Carver Elementary | ||
Middle | Edward Cromartie, Jr. | Mount Olive Middle | ||
High | Nelson Cunningham | Charles B. Aycock High School | ||
The district’s Teacher of the Year and the Principal of the Year are part of state and national awards programs. The WCPS Assistant Principal of the Year, CTE Teachers of the Year, School Counselor of the Year and Media Coordinator of the Year are district-level awards programs which represent WCPS locally. Each program has its own nomination and selection process. For the Teacher of the Year, Assistant Principal of the Year, and Principal of the Year programs, a district-level selection committee interviews each candidate to determine the district finalists. A follow-up interview of each finalist will then help determine who is named the “of the Year” for that program. Once named, the WCPS Teacher of the Year and Principal of the Year will move on to a regional competition, which is the next stage of the state-level competitions.
“We look forward to celebrating excellence in education and recognizing all of the various award recipients, award program finalists, and all of our school level Teachers of the Year during this special evening of recognitions” states Dr. Yvette Smith Mason, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources & Professional Development. “We also look forward to having Heather Smith, the current North Carolina Teacher of the Year, join us as a special speaker for the evening’s recognitions.”
Below is the complete list of each school-level Teacher of the Year selected to represent their school in the coming school year:
School | Teacher of the Year |
Brogden Middle | Donnell Hamilton |
Brogden Primary | Jacquanta Davis-McLamb |
Carver Elementary | Gracey Guagliardi |
Carver Heights Elementary | Deveda Jones |
Charles B. Aycock High | Kimberly Newman |
Dillard Middle | Revelene Hutchins |
Eastern Wayne Elementary | Weslea Gray |
Eastern Wayne High | Anjanette Artis |
Eastern Wayne Middle | Tara Best |
Edgewood Community Developmental School | Scott Littleton |
Fremont Elementary | Danielle Mobley |
Goldsboro High | Patricia Velasco |
Grantham Elementary | Stephanie Moody |
Grantham Middle | Lisa Joyner |
Greenwood Middle | Sedudji Tayviah |
Meadow Lane Elementary | Meko Artis |
Mount Olive Middle | Joshua Hardison |
North Drive Elementary | Doris Ward |
Northeast Elementary | Jennifer Edwards |
Northwest Elementary | Deanna Pate |
Norwayne Middle | Nicola Boyette |
Rosewood Elementary | Katherine Browde |
Rosewood High | Ashley Sparks |
Rosewood Middle | Jamie Smith |
Southern Wayne High | Travis Cummings |
Spring Creek Elementary | Kelli Sasser |
Spring Creek High | Jannah Marriner |
Spring Creek Middle | Sarah Ryan |
Tommy’s Road Elementary | Joi Hood |
Wayne Early/Middle College High | Mark Ritcher |
Wayne Middle/High Academy | Alesia Wooten |
Wayne School of Engineering | Susan Randolph |
Wayne School of Technical Arts | Lanelle Sutton |
Attached Photos