Ann Quarles

Superintendent Del Burns presented Quarles the Wake County Teacher of the Year Award sponsored by Wachovia Bank at Thursday night's banquet. Burns praised Quarles as a teacher leader and for earning the school system's highest honor. Hundreds of community and education leaders attending the event congratulated her with applause.

Quarles teaches fourth grade at Powell Elementary Quarles has been teaching for seven years, the last two at Powell Gifted and Talented Magnet Elementary School of the Visual and Performing Arts. She is a Teach for America alumna and has worked as a graduate teaching assistant and university supervisor at the University of Texas-Austin. She is active at her church, plays with the Raleigh Area Flute Association choir and volunteers with Urban Ministries.

“Students must see themselves as learners and believe that they can learn,” said Quarles. “I believe that each child in my classroom possesses his or her own unique set of gifts and talents. It is my job to help each child build on his or her strengths to become self-directed, successful learners.”

“In observing Ann at work in her classroom, one will quickly recognize that she has an extensive knowledge base of current educational research and practice,” said her principal Jimmy Sposato. “She engages the children in explicit, focused and differentiated instruction that is both engaging and challenging. Ann exhibits best practice instructional strategies and clarity of instructional purpose. Her room is covered with charts that provide a record of student learning.”

As the Wake County Teacher of the Year, Quarles will represent Wake County in the North Carolina Teacher of the Year competition. She succeeds Paige Elliott, a Fuquay Varina High School teacher and the 2007 Wake County Teacher of the Year.

Wake County's Teacher of the Year receives:

• An engraved acrylic award
• A $50 gift certificate to The Angus Barn Restaurant
• A laptop computer and multi-function printer compliments of Office Depot
• One-year use of a 2008 Saturn Automobile-compliments of Bill Shotwell of Saturn of Raleigh/Cary
• A travel cart filled with office supplies- compliments of Office Depot
• A check for $ 1,000.00 compliments of corporate sponsors
• The Dan Royster Teacher award, $1,500 toward participation in the Center for International Understanding's Global Study Program- compliments of The Center for International Understanding.

The Dan Royster Teacher award was established as a tribute and memorial to Dan Royster, a Wake County science teacher and enthusiastic international exchange participant. The award is funded through contributions from his family and friends.

Candidates for Teacher of the Year are nominated and elected by their peers. The teacher candidates develop portfolios that describe their teaching careers and philosophy of teaching. Ten selection committees review the portfolios and narrow the field to 20 semifinalists. The selection committees observe the semifinalists in their classrooms and each committee chooses one teacher to be among the 10 finalists. The finalists are interviewed by the Teacher of the Year Interview Committee. Based upon the quality of the portfolio and the interview, the Interview Committee then chooses the Teacher of the Year by secret ballot.