Schools
Lawrenceville Educator Named Finalist for Teacher of the Year
Hyunjin Son of Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology is one of six finalists. The winner will be announced in November.
Gwinnett County Public Schools named their finalists for Teacher of the Year on Wednesday. One of them teaches at a Lawrenceville school.
Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology ninth grade engineering teacher Hyunjin Son is one of the six GCPS teachers to make it to the final round.
Son has been teaching for eight years. All of them at GCPS schools. Prior to coming to GSMST in 2010, Son taught physics for four years at Peachtree Ridge High School.
She decided to teach in hopes of encouraging more girls to pursue fields in science and technology.
“I recognized a need when all of the physics and engineering teachers in my high school were men. I recognized a need when all of my mechanical engineering professors were men. I even recognized a need when all of the research engineers and technicians in my lab at a national laboratory were men," said Son in a release from GCPS. "Therefore, my ultimate goal in addressing this need was to find ways to expose as many students to the field of engineering as possible so that one day, my students could change society’s views on women in engineering.”
The other five finalists are:
- Heather Watkins, Mulberry Elementary
- Stacey Dunlap, Simpson Elementary
- Carol Williams, Summerour Middle
- Ashley Allgood, Brookwood High
- Lissette McRea, Berkmar Middle
The process began will all 130 GCPS schools naming their own Teachers of the Year. That list was then narrowed down to 26 semifinalist.
The next step in selecting the Teacher of the Year will be classroom observation and interviews with the six finalists.
GCPS' Teacher of the Year will be named at a banquet on Thursday, November 7 at the Gwinnett Center.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
