 Freebird McKinney, a social
studies teacher at Walter M. Williams High School in Burlington, was named the 2018
Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year during an awards
luncheon today in Cary. McKinney was selected from a field of nine finalists
representing the state’s eight education districts and charter schools.
McKinney has been teaching
for 13 years, the last three at Williams High School, in the
Alamance-Burlington School System, where he teaches World and European history
and also is co-coordinator of the school’s International Baccalaureate Pathway
Program.
A self-described “village
teacher,” McKinney also sees his role as an educator reaching beyond the
classroom, leading international service-learning adventures, working also as
an adjunct professor at Elon University and serving as a community leader.
“I try to emulate to my
students and to community members what an engaged citizen looks like,” McKinney
said in his Teacher of the Year nomination submission.
State
Superintendent Mark Johnson, who announced the winner today, congratulated
McKinney on what he said was a well-deserved honor.
“The state of North Carolina is lucky to have
Mr. McKinney and all of his hard-working colleagues who strive to provide all
students with the opportunity to work hard and succeed,” Johnson said.
Bill Harrison, superintendent
of Alamance-Burlington schools and the former chairman of the State Board of
Education, said in a letter supporting McKinney’s nomination that during visits
to his classroom, “I always stay longer than my schedule permits because it is
tough to leave. … His students are not passive participants. They are actively
engaged. Freebird is a true teacher leader and the type of teacher we would all
want for our own children.”
As 2018 Teacher of the Year, McKinney
succeeds last year’s recipient, Lisa Godwin, a kindergarten teacher at Dixon
Elementary School in Onslow County. The teacher of the year is chosen by a
committee of professional educators as well business and community leaders. The
state selection committee members are chosen based on their active public
record in support of education.
Alfred Mays, program officer
for science education and diversity with the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, said the
foundation is proud to support an award program that recognizes educators who
exemplify great teaching and leadership.
“All nine finalists are
representatives of the very best in their regions and are the teacher leaders
who are not only being recognized for their hard work and contributions,” Mays
said, “but also their acceptance of even greater responsibility in promoting
the profession that makes all other professions possible.”
McKinney’s own education
reflects his commitment to lifelong learning. After graduating from UNC Chapel
Hill with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology in 1998, he earned a second
bachelor’s degree in history from UNC Greensboro in 2004, then a master’s
degree in education in 2006, also from UNC Greensboro, where he’s now working
on a master’s degree in history.
He began his teaching career
in 2004 at Eastern Guilford High School. During his four years there, he
developed a curriculum called “freshmen humanities,” served as social studies
department head, varsity cross country and track coach, junior varsity
basketball coach and founded a travel club, for which he led a trip to London,
Paris and Rome.
From 2008 to 2015, McKinney
taught at Grimsley High School in Greensboro, where he was chairman of the
social studies department and taught IB Philosophy and AP European History,
among other courses, and was teacher sponsor of a number of student groups,
including Dustin’s Greenhouse, a service-learning club focusing on grass-roots
awareness and service, and the Model United Nations program.
During the last three years
at Williams High School in Alamance-Burlington, McKinney has taught AP European
History, AP World History and honors World History, among other courses, and
with other faculty members is developing an IB Diploma program at the school
beginning next school year as the district’s first such program. He developed a
Student Leadership Academy at the school to better connect his students and
help them become more civically engaged. He’s also a cooperating teacher with
Elon University’s School of Education, where he began this year as an adjunct
professor, teaching 21st Century Teaching and Learning.
“I am constantly trying to
bring new programs, opportunities and experiences to my students,” McKinney
wrote to the nominating committee. “I never want them to stop being curious, to
stop yearning to discover, and to stop learning.”
As with other regional
finalists, McKinney was first recognized this school year as teacher of the
year at his school and district.
As Burroughs Wellcome Fund
North Carolina Teacher of the Year, he will spend the next school year
traveling the state as an ambassador for the teaching profession. He will
receive the use during the year of a new vehicle, leased from Flow Automotive, LLC, the
opportunity to attend a seminar at the NC Center for the Advancement of
Teaching (NCCAT), a mobile device from Lenovo valued at approximately $1,600,
an engraved vase, a one-time cash award of $7,500, a trip to the National
Teacher of the Year Conference and International Space Camp, and the
opportunity to travel abroad through an endowment sponsored by Go Global NC.
McKinney also will serve as
an advisor to the State Board of Education for two years and as a board member
for the NC Public School Forum for one year. In addition, the North Carolina
Department of Public Instruction will sponsor his enrollment and completion of
the Public School Forum’s Education Policy Fellowship Program.
The other regional finalists
were:
- Northeast: Kaley Kiffner, Perquimans
County Middle (Perquimans County Schools);
- Southeast: Cameron Gupton, Greene
Early College High (Greene County Schools);
- North Central: Kedecia Stewart,
Pinkston Street Elementary School (Vance County Schools);
- Sandhills: Lindsey Sise, West Hoke
Middle (Hoke County Schools);
- Southwest: Samone Graham,
Mooresville High (Mooresville Graded School District);
- Northwest: Lisa Wall, Burke Middle
College (Burke County Public Schools);
- Western: Julie Pittman, R-S Central
High (Rutherford County Schools); and
- Charter Schools: Courtney Samuelson,
The Capitol Encore Academy (Fayetteville)
North Carolina has recognized
outstanding teachers through its Teacher of the Year program since 1970. For
more information on North Carolina’s Teacher of the Year recognition program,
visit the program’s website. You also can follow the North Carolina Teacher of the Year
finalists on Twitter at #NCTOYPOY
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