THOMSON – Telitita Burley, an eighth grade English/language arts teacher at Thomson-McDuffie Middle School received the
golden apple trophy as the McDuffie County School District’s top teacher Aug. 27 at a ceremony at Thomson High School.
Burley has served as an educator for six years, all of those in McDuffie County. She credits her success in the classroom to building strong rapport with students, ensuring that they feel encouraged to learn and express themselves through literature. As such, she is dedicated to including real-world experiences so students are actively engaged in the content while
developing into confident writers, readers, and critical thinkers, according to a news release from the school system.
“The amazing thing about teaching language arts is that students are often able to see themselves inside a character, and that really helps them to be able to connect with the subject itself,” she said.
Other teachers of the years include Beth Shedd, Dearing Elementary; Ettoniet Anderson, Maxwell Elementary; Kierra Dansby, Norris Elementary; and Angel Afolabi, Thomson High School.
Burley will now move on to represent the McDuffie County School District in the Georgia Teacher of the Year program.
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Congratulations to all who no doubt earned this achievement with blood, sweat, and tears!