6 Teachers in Residence Join CERRA
ROCK HILL, S.C. — The Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA) announces the addition of three Teachers in Residence (TIR). Tracie Sweet, Genie McDill and Marcella Wine-Snyder have recently been hired as TIR’s for the upcoming school year and join Jo Ann Sherbine and Rhonda Farmer, who were named to the same posts in April.
Representing five regions; Upstate, Savannah River, Midlands, Pee Dee, and Lowcountry, TIR’s work extensively in their assigned region providing guidance, leadership and support to classroom teachers as well as promote the programs and services of CERRA. S.C. Teacher of the Year Ann Marie Taylor will participate in a one-year residency with the Center and provide support for CERRA as a statewide representative.
Sweet, who teaches first grade at Pendleton Elementary School since 1997, will serve in Region One—Upstate. Actively involved in professional development opportunities through CERRA, she has been trained in the Santa Cruz Model for Foundations in Mentoring and the Cognitive CoachingTM. Sweet became a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) in 2001 and was named the Anderson School District Four Teacher of the Year in 2002. Additionally, she serves as CERRA’s National Board liaison for Anderson School District Four, a role in which she helps recruit and support new NBC candidates.
McDill, a social studies teacher at Ware Shoals High School since 1999, will serve in Region Two—Savannah River. Twice named Greenwood District 51 Teacher of the Year (2003 and 2005), she has been a part of CERRA’s Teacher Forum, an event designed to assemble district teachers of the year to create a dialogue among the state’s top educators. In 2006, she was awarded the Order of the Silver Crescent, the state’s highest award for volunteer and/or community service. McDill has been a member of CERRA’s Advisory Board for the past year and will continue her roll as an active member of CAB. Additional honors for McDill include being named the 2006 South Carolina Daughters of Colonial Wars History Teacher of the Year and the 2005 Daughters of the American Revolution History Teacher of the Year.
Snyder, who has twice been named Richland One Middle College teacher of the year, will serve Region Three—Midlands. She has taught for 15 years in both Richland County School District One and School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties as an English educator/instructor. The Charleston-native earned a B.A. in English Education from Benedict College in 1992 and went on to earn a M. Ed. in Education from Cambridge College in 1998. As a lifelong educator with a passion for improving the teaching profession, Snyder is most proud of her tri-fold connections to CERRA and its programs. She is a former Teacher Cadet, a Teacher Cadet instructor, and a NBCT.
Sherbine, who has most recently been a teacher specialist at Bennettsville Middle School, brings 31 years of teaching experience with her as she will serve Region Four—Pee Dee. This National Board Certified Teacher has been actively involved in CERRA programs for the past 20 years. She has taught Teacher Cadets at Cheraw High School, held a seat on the CERRA Advisory Board, has supported fellow NBCT’s through candidate support trainings and been a NBCT liaison for Marlboro County School District and Region Four—Pee Dee. Sherbine has also served on interview panels for the prestigious S.C. Teaching Fellows scholarship, which is awarded annually to up to 200 high school seniors.
Farmer, who has taught for 13 years in Hampton School District Two, will serve Region Five—Lowcountry. Having been involved in CERRA programs throughout her career, this charismatic teacher joins the other TIR’s with a shared commitment and passion for bettering the students and teachers of the Palmetto State. For her first eight years in the classroom, Farmer taught Pro Team at Estill Middle School, and has since been a Teacher Cadet instructor at Estill High School.
Taylor, a special education teacher from Pine Tree Elementary School, will serve as CERRA’s statewide representative while completing a one-year residency with the Center after being named the 2007-08 State Teacher of the Year in May. A classroom teacher for six years, she is elated at the opportunity to learn each day from the more than 50,000 educators in South Carolina.
TIR’s can be contacted at 866.200.6053. Each TIR’s first commitment is to their assigned region, but when able they can travel out-of-region to assist in trainings and visit high school classes. As part of CERRA’s ongoing mission to identify, attract and recruit accomplished teachers to South Carolina, the TIR’s will have a presence at teacher recruitment fairs around the country.
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’s programs have been adopted at school, district and state levels in more than 30 states in the United States.