Bojangles donates books to honor Upstate teachers

First, congratulations to those teachers who have been selected as Teachers of the Year by their peers in those schools where that is the process.

Second, congratulations to Bojangles for recognizing the value of great teaching and for its donation of books to the honored teachers.

This note in today's Spartanburg Herald-Journal identifies that county's teachers of the year and gives credit to Bojangles for its participation:

Recently Bojangles' presented hundreds of books to local District Teachers of the Year. This donation event was one of 16 planned for this year, and is part of Bojangles' ongoing partnership with South Carolina Future Minds, which is designed to support teachers across the state who make a positive impact on their students and the future of South Carolina through their commitment to education.

Teachers honored at the event included: South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind (SCSDB) Teacher of the Year Carrie Ramella works with ninth through 12th graders in the deaf high school on speechlanguage therapy. She has an undergraduate degree from Columbia College and earned her Masters of Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of South Carolina.

Spartanburg School District One Teacher of the Year Laura Dickson teaches physical education at O.P. Earle Elementary School in Landrum and says that the rising epidemic of obesity in our children motivated her to become a P.E. teacher. It is Dickson's hope that their experience in elementary P.E. will lead to a lifetime of health and wellness.

Spartanburg School District Two Teacher of the Year Patricia Hardee is employed at Boiling Springs Elementary School, where she teaches third grade. Hardee believes that, as a teacher, she has the power to transform lives, encourage, teach and love children for the majority of their day. She finds this to be an awesome responsibility and one that she takes great pride in.

Spartanburg School District Three Teacher of the Year Veronica Carroll tries to inspire her fifth grade math students at Cowpens Elementary School by creating an exciting classroom. She works to create a love of math for her students through the use of music, rap and hands-on activities. Carroll loves when she is able to teach a student something they thought they could not do or that was confusing to them at first.

Spartanburg School District Four Teacher of the Year Tina Harrell is the library media specialist at Woodruff Middle School where she believes the best part of her job is learning alongside her students.

Spartanburg School District Five Teacher of the Year Christy Emerson believes that building a strong literary foundation for her first grade students at River Ridge Elementary School will help them succeed in other areas of academic instruction. She considers her ability to create an environment where children love learning as one of her greatest accomplishments. Emerson refers to her first grade students as “Super Kids” and strives to help them become the best they can be.

Spartanburg School District Seven Teacher of the Year Nancy Crowe teaches adapted physical education at McCarthy Teszler School in Spartanburg and enjoys inspiring her awesome and unique students to turn their disabilities into abilities.

“Bojangles' is proud to continue its support of education in the Palmetto State,” said Bojangles' President and CEO Randy Kibler. “Partnering with South Carolina Future Minds and the Teacher of the Year program for the third consecutive year gives us the opportunity to thank South Carolina's outstanding teachers for their dedication to the nearly 700,000 students currently enrolled in the public education system.” This year Bojangles' will be donating nearly 3,000 books in honor of District Teachers of the Year.