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Serving Princeton, Rosewood, Brogden, E. Johnston Co., W. Wayne Co., North Carolina |
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HeadlinesThis week's Pigskin Pickin' results Cathy Best is Wayne County's top teacher Six-year-old led off school grounds Princeton Board debates railroad crossing closings, federal funds Benefit of nature's roden killers Princeton's Veterans Day celebration planned Football: PHS tackles Mattamuskeet for homecoming Football: RHS falls to Jones Sr. Golf: Lady Bulldogs top NJ Volleyball: PHS tops Rosewood at home; L. Bulldogs take two wins Volleyball: RHS takes first conference win Photos Obituaries Movies The Kingdom Local Showtimes
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Cathy Best is Wayne's top teacherBy Barry Merrill 3 October 2007 — Cathy Best works to prepare her students at Rosewood High School to face what experts predict will be eight to 15 job changes during their working careers. That frightening degree of change compares with the amount of change she has faced during her 27 year teaching career. Cathy has answered that challenge, not just trying to keep up, but with a level of excellence that has earned her selection as Wayne County’s Teacher of the Year.
Mrs. Best was selected after panel interviews, which helped narrow the selection process to Teachers of the Year at the three grade levels: elementary, middle and high school. The final selection from among the three finalists was announced at a banquet at the end of August at Goldsboro Country Club. Cathy Hartley was born to Gilmore and Marie Hartley, who lived in the Neuse Islands. They later moved to the Goldsboro area, and Cathy graduated from Southern Wayne High School. While she did well in school, serving on the journalism staff and as a member of the Literary Club, Future Business Leaders of America was her chosen organization, as she was determined to be a stenographer. After graduating in 1974, she went to work out of school for James Crone, CPA, as that stenographer, but within two years she realized that was not what she would be happy doing the rest of her life. She found a job as a school secretary and teaching assistant, working with the youth at Cherry Hospital. She later began taking night classes at Mount Olive College to better prepare her for a teaching career. She earned her associate’s degree from Mount Olive, and then took a leave of absence from her job at Cherry to go full time to Atlantic Christian College (now Barton) in Wilson to finish with a double major in business education and business administration. As she reflects, she is very appreciative of the generous support, financial and otherwise, that the two schools offered her, particularly as an adult student going at night and as an older student at AC. When she graduated in 1987, she was anxious to go to work at Wayne County Schools, but there were no teaching jobs available. For two years she worked as Special Populations Coordinator at Goldsboro Middle and Goldsboro High School. After two years, one of the business teachers at Rosewood moved to another school, and she has been there ever since.
“This was where I did my student teaching, and when I came here, I was teaching in the same room where I did my student teaching. I have been in that same room most of the time while I have been here.” In 1989 business education was working with typewriters. Today it is working with the latest technology. She compliments the school system for the technology that is available for her students. “We have Dell Computers with 17” flat screens, Microsoft Office XP with voice recognition software. We have what we need to teach students and teach them well.” She remembers well the transition to computers. “I had to learn, too. I had to stay a few lessons ahead of the kids. But you want to keep up. Technology changes every week.” In 1976, Cathy married Kirby Best, a farmer, and they still live in the Grantham area. He’s primarily a turkey farmer now. They have two children: Kelby, 25, who is handicapped and living at home, and Kelly, a 15 year old who is now at Rosewood High School. Kelby goes to Skill Creation during the day, and Kelly comes to school with Cathy. “She is adjusting to being at school with mom,” Cathy says. “She likes the idea that she might drive me to school soon.” Cathy says the Teacher of the Year selection was based significantly on creative teaching methods, philosophy of teaching and professional development. She has her National Board Certification, which she earned in 2000. She is also halfway through earning her master’s degree from East Carolina University. One of the factors that may have helped Cathy was being hired six years ago as an on-line instructor for the state of Maryland’s Virtual High School. She accepted the position partially because it qualified local students for slots in the school. She moves now to regional competition for Teacher of the Year, which will include nominees from 12 counties. She earned a $5,000 world travel award for winning at the Wayne County level. With the increasing importance of technology, Cathy has not only the traditional student who is looking to enter the work force on graduation, but many who expect to continue their education at community colleges and universities. She said she is excited by both bodies of students. What really excites her is former students who are doing well in business. She recalls a trip to a physical therapist recently and one of her former students was heading the business office for the therapists. She said four of her former students are anxiously awaiting her retirement, hoping to get her job at Rosewood. One other is currently teaching marketing at Southern Wayne, and another is teaching at Wayne Community College. Cathy chairs the Career and Technical Education Department at Rosewood, which includes eight teachers. In addition to business education, they also teach Family and Consumer Science, Agriculture, Technology, and Health Occupations. “We’ve had the highest test scores in the county for the past six years,” a testimony to the strength of the department, she says. She says that they are teaching skills that help prepare for the challenges ahead. For college bound students, they help with research, presentations, and public speaking skills. For those going directly into the job market, critical thinking, data and time management, and teaching them how to learn, to help prepare them for the unknown. “I’m in my 27th year of teaching. I would like to teach here at least until my daughter graduates.” She isn’t currently teaching an online course, but will begin teaching for North Carolina’s virtual high school soon. The challenge of presenting the changing world of technology to an online audience may keep Cathy involved and evolving for many years to come.
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