For immediate release, June 3, 2009

ROCK HILL — State Teacher of the Year Bryan Coburn will be blogging his way across South Carolina as he travels the Palmetto State during the 2009-2010 school year.

Coburn, a pre-engineering and computer programming teacher at Northwestern High School in Rock Hill School District Three, was named the state’s top teacher last month. In that role he represents nearly 50,000 teachers while participating in a one-year residency program with the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, & Advancement (CERRA) in Rock Hill.

“I look forward to my many opportunities to grow as a person and an educator.  I will share my experiences and I implore you to share your experiences and viewpoints with me this year, too,” he said. “We all make a difference in so many lives each day, yet our collective strength can create a synergistic force that we can only imagine.”

Coburn invites you to visit his blog at www.cerra.org/bryansblog.

As a 19-year teaching veteran, Coburn mentors new teachers, including those participating in PACE, the state’s alternative certification program, and assists colleagues seeking National Board Certification.  A School Improvement Council member, he has been recognized as a master teacher by Project Lead the Way, providing continuing education and mentoring for teachers across the United States, and is a master teacher for advanced placement in computer science.

His blog marks the third consecutive year that the State Teacher of the Year has blogged about his or her experiences. Ann Marie Taylor chronicled her year in 2008 and Jenna Hallman did the same in 2009. Taylor’s blog was recognized among the top ten best public education stories and events in 2007.

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About the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, & Advancement:
CERRA, an independent state agency located on the campus of Winthrop University, is the oldest and most established teacher recruitment program in the country. The purpose of CERRA is to provide leadership in identifying, attracting, placing and retaining well-qualified individuals for the teaching profession in South Carolina. CERRA is a national model and its programs have been adopted at school, district and state levels in more than 30 states in the United States.