Teacher of Year finalists selected

Columbia County school officials Tuesday presented the Teachers of the Year from each of the county's schools and announced the five finalists for the systemwide Teacher of the Year award.

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Named as finalists during the board of education meeting were: Christa Powell, a kindergarten teacher at Cedar Ridge Elementary; Michelle Radford, a special needs teacher at North Columbia Elementary; Kim Phillips, a second--grade teacher at River Ridge Elementary; Brenda Adams, a kindergarten teacher at Stevens Creek Elementary; and Vicki Tarleton, a math teacher at Grovetown High School.

This is the first year Grovetown High was eligible to nominate a Teacher of the Year, and the second year in a row that teachers of the year from Cedar Ridge and River Ridge were system finalists. Last year's county Teacher of the Year, Allison Palfy, was an early intervention teacher at Cedar Ridge.

Finalists will be interviewed and observed later this year by a panel of educators from outside Columbia County. The overall winner will then be in the running for state Teacher of the Year.

A banquet to name the county Teacher of the Year will be held Oct. 7.