Four Paths to Excellence:
CCS Celebrates its 2027 'Of the Year' Winners
Four Premier Professionals honored for helping students
lead, connect, grow and succeed
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Across Cumberland County Schools (CCS), excellence comes to life through people committed to helping every student succeed.
One teaches students to own their stories. One has spent 50 years demonstrating why connection must come before curriculum. One turns data into opportunity. One builds every decision around a single question: What’s best for kids?
Together, Charles Houston, Janice Swoope, Dr. Pierre B. Cobb and Marcus Stewart are CCS’ 2027 ‘Of the Year’ honorees.
CCS announced the winners on Tuesday, Sept. 1, during the Premier Professionals Gala in the Crown Ballroom at the Crown Coliseum Complex:
- Charles Houston, New Century International Middle School — 2027 Beginning Teacher of the Year
- Janice Swoope, Reid Ross Classical School — 2027 Teacher of the Year
- Dr. Pierre B. Cobb, Pine Forest High School — 2027 Assistant Principal of the Year
- Marcus Stewart, Sunnyside Elementary School — 2027 Principal of the Year
The gala, themed “Achieving CCS Excellence: Striving to Be the Best. Succeeding Together,” celebrated educators and school leaders whose work makes a difference for students, families and the community.
During his remarks, CCS Superintendent Dr. Eric C. Bracy celebrated the honorees and the difference they make throughout the district.
“Tonight, we celebrate the best of CCS — educators and leaders whose talent, dedication and heart make a difference for students every day,” Dr. Bracy said.
Later in his remarks, he added, “Our North Star is clear. CCS is working to become the highest-performing district in North Carolina. That is a bold goal. Reaching it will require focus, urgency and the courage to keep improving. It will also require the excellence already present in this room.”
Speaking on behalf of the Cumberland County Board of Education, Vice Chairwoman Jacquelyn Brown emphasized the people behind the district’s progress.
“Tonight gives us an opportunity to say something that cannot be said often enough: your work matters. Your leadership matters. And the commitment you bring to Cumberland County Schools makes a lasting difference in the lives of the students and families we are honored to serve,” Brown said.
Referring to the district’s recently approved strategic plan, she added, “Our strategic plan gives CCS a shared path forward, but it is our people who will turn that plan into progress.”
Four paths. One purpose.
Charles Houston: “Helping students own their stories”
Houston, a seventh-grade social studies teacher at New Century International Middle School, has created a classroom grounded in structure, meaningful relationships and civic engagement. Drawing on leadership qualities developed in the military, he uses a student-led civic model through which students campaign, debate, hold elections and work together to address classroom concerns.
Houston refers to his students as Jali, meaning storyteller, and teaches them that their individual stories matter. His students do more than learn about leadership — they practice it.
“They are not just learning history—they are becoming ethical storytellers who understand the responsibility of telling stories with truth and purpose,” Houston said. “We don’t just study civics—we live it.”
Charles Houston, New Century International Middle School — 2027 Beginning Teacher of the Year
Janice Swoope: “Connecting before curriculum”
During a 50-year career in education, including 43 years with CCS, Swoope has taught orchestra, chorus and general music while building a legacy of musical excellence and meaningful relationships.
Her accomplishments include 34 consecutive superior ratings at state competition from 1992 through 2024, recognition as the 2024 Eastern Regional Orchestra Director of the Year and founding the Cumberland County Middle School Orchestra. Her Teacher of the Year platform, “Connect B4 Curriculum,” emphasizes relationships, belonging and student mental wellness as foundations for academic success.
“Teaching is about connection, not just information,” Swoope said. “When we connect before curriculum, we can create schools where students do not simply survive, but thrive.”
Janice Swoope, Reid Ross Classical School — 2027 Teacher of the Year
Dr. Pierre B. Cobb: “Turning data into opportunity”
Dr. Cobb has spent 11 years in education and five years in administration. He began his career at Pine Forest High School as a mathematics teacher and now serves the school as an assistant principal.
Through item-level data analysis, restructured professional learning community meetings and teacher coaching, Dr. Cobb helped Pine Forest High School increase its Biology proficiency rate by more than 20 percentage points. He also developed Trojan Block, a weekly intervention period that provides ACT preparation, end-of-course remediation and targeted academic support during the school day.
“At Pine Forest High School, our instructional focus is built on a simple premise: every process we put in place must be measurable in student outcomes, not just visible in classroom practice,” Dr. Cobb said.
Dr. Pierre B. Cobb, Pine Forest High School — 2027 Assistant Principal of the Year
Marcus Stewart: “Building a team around what’s best for kids”
Stewart has served as principal of Sunnyside Elementary School since 2023. His 19-year career in education includes eight years in administration and previous service as a social studies teacher, assistant principal and athletic director.
Under Stewart’s leadership, Sunnyside exited its low-performing, continually low-performing and Targeted Support and Improvement designations. The school improved from a D to a C and reached 10-year highs in reading, mathematics and science. Stewart also led a redesign of the school’s discipline process that reduced office discipline referrals by 25%. During the same period, grade-level proficiency increased by four percentage points.
“Programs matter. Resources matter. But great instruction is what is going to change the lives of our students,” Stewart said. “Every decision I make comes back to one question: What’s best for kids?”
Marcus Stewart, Sunnyside Elementary School — 2027 Principal of the Year
Teacher of the Year Runners-up
Tara King, a 23-year agricultural education teacher at Gray’s Creek High School, was named the 2027 Teacher of the Year first runner-up. King helped establish the school’s agricultural education program, develop its on-campus livestock facility and grow its FFA chapter to more than 300 students.
Madison Boswell, a social studies teacher at Cumberland Polytechnic High School, was named the 2027 Teacher of the Year second runner-up. As a Cumberland Polytechnic student, Boswell helped start the school’s Speech and Debate team and now serves as its assistant coach. She has also developed World History curriculum used across CCS high schools.
Sponsors, Supporters and Emcee
CCS recognizes and thanks Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, ESS, Fayetteville Marksmen, Jostens, LaFayette® Ford & LaFayette® Lincoln, Lifetouch, Luigi’s Italian Chophouse and Bar, Olde Fayetteville Insurance & Financial Services, Inc. and School Tools of Fayetteville for helping make the celebration possible. The district also thanks local radio personality Kelvin Culbreth, who served as emcee for the gala.
View the awards, gifts and prizes presented to this year’s honorees.
Together, the 2027 ‘Of the Year’ winners demonstrate that CCS Excellence takes many forms but shares one purpose: creating the conditions for every student to succeed. Their work represents the people behind CCS’ progress and the promise of what is possible when students, families, staff and the community succeed together.
*Photos from tonight’s Premier Professionals Gala will be added to this folder as they become available.
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