teachers of the year

PULASKI COUNTY, Ark. -- For the third year in a row, the Pulaski County Special School District (PCSSD) is participating in the Arkansas Teacher of the Year program. 

Through a rigorous selection process, each of PCSSD’s 25 brick-and-mortar schools as well as the DRIVEN Virtual Academy and Center of Innovation selected one educator as their school teacher of the year. The following teachers were selected to represent their school based on nominations and recommendations from their peers.

SCHOOL

TEACHER

BAKER ELEMENTARY

Natalie Casavechia

CATO ELEMENTARY

Katie Shuptrine

CHENAL ELEMENTARY

LaCynthia Virden

COLLEGE STATION ELEMENTARY

Courtney Thomas

CRYSTAL HILL ELEMENTARY

LaTonya Gillmore

DAISY BATES ELEMENTARY

Darice Nesmith

HARRIS ELEMENTARY

Kenya Brown

LANDMARK ELEMENTARY

Latasha Kimbrough Tate

LAWSON ELEMENTARY

Ashley Davis

OAK GROVE ELEMENTARY

Jarred White

OAKBROOKE ELEMENTARY

DeAnn White

PINE FOREST ELEMENTARY

Laura Sergeant

ROBINSON ELEMENTARY

LaCresha Davie

SHERWOOD ELEMENTARY

Whitney Bohannon

SYLVAN HILLS ELEMENTARY

Courtney Pigg

WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON ELEMENTARY

Maija Jones

MAUMELLE MIDDLE

Diego Lozano

MILLS MIDDLE

Charde Wilson

ROBINSON MIDDLE

Wendy Kohler

SYLVAN HILLS MIDDLE

Carli Cooper

SYLVAN HILLS JUNIOR HIGH

Hunter Plante

MAUMELLE HIGH

Vernetta Sanders

MILLS UNIVERSITY STUDIES HIGH

Lakesha Foote

ROBINSON HIGH

Ben Light

SYLVAN HILLS HIGH

Melissa Duncan

CENTER OF INNOVATION

Terisa Liberty

DRIVEN VIRTUAL ACADEMY

Lisa Romero

A panel made up of District and school administrators will review the school-level teachers of the year to determine the PCSSD Teacher of the Year. The District winner will be announced at a celebration banquet on Wednesday, May 17, 2023.

PCSSD followed the Arkansas Department of Education Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Teacher of the Year guidelines, including the teacher’s impact on school culture, leadership in and out of the classroom, and student connections. The winner of the PCSSD Teacher of the Year will be submitted to DESE for consideration for the 2024 Arkansas Teacher of the Year.