Three teachers have been selected as finalists for the 2009 "Teacher of the Year" recognition program for Floyd County Schools. The three finalists are: Catherine ‘Suzie’ Henderson, a speech language teacher at Pepperell Elementary School; Layne Stone, the Spanish teacher at Pepperell Middle School; and Terrell Shaw, a fourth-grade teacher at Armuchee Elementary School.

The finalists were selected by a review committee from the Northwest Georgia Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA). The committee made the selections from written applications submitted by the "Teacher of the Year" representatives from each school in the Floyd County School System. Questions asked in the application were taken from the Georgia "Teacher of the Year" application form.

Catherine ‘Suzie’ Henderson currently teaches speech and language to fourth and fifth-grade students at Pepperell Elementary School. She has been a teacher since 1997 and has spent the last ten years at Pepperell. Prior to Pepperell, Henderson taught one year at McHenry Primary. Mrs. Henderson holds a specialist degree in Speech Language Pathology from State University of West Georgia.

Layne Stone has taught language in the classroom since 1985.  She has taught French, Spanish and English during her teaching career.  Mrs. Stone has worked in Floyd County Schools since 2004 and has taught students Spanish using the traditional classroom method at Pepperell Middle and to other students in Floyd County in the Distance Learning Lab.  The Distance Learning Lab allows her to teach students at other schools in Floyd County using video conferencing equipment.   Mrs. Stone holds a bachelor degree in Spanish from Valdosta State University.

Terrell Shaw has taught fourth-grade children at Armuchee Elementary for the last nine years.  He started his teaching career in 1969 in West Virginia and came to Floyd County in 1971.  Mr. Shaw left the education field in 1988 to pursue private interest in the Rome area but returned to the classroom in 1999.  Mr. Shaw holds undergraduate degrees in history and English from Asbury College, a master’s degree in elementary education from Marshall University and gifted certification.

The three top teachers will now begin the final phase of the selection process to select the 2009 Floyd County Schools "Teacher of the Year." The final phase will include a personal interview of each finalist and classroom observations of the teachers working with students. The interviews will be held on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at the Floyd County Board of Education Office on Riverside Parkway. The process will conclude on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 with classroom observations.  The final phase of the selection process will be evaluated by a committee made up of members of the Floyd/Rome Retired Teachers Association. 

The 2009 Floyd County Schools "Teacher of the Year" will be announced on October 21, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. during the regular monthly meeting of the Floyd County Board of Education.