Rose basketball highlights
Issue 1
September 27th, 2019
Garner gains new recognition
MON. | 11-6-23 | NEWS
Career and technical education (CTE) teacher Kurt Garner recently won the Rose Teacher of the Year award and the North Carolina Center for Advancement and Teaching (NCCAT) CTE Teacher of the Year award.
Garner is involved with multiple CTE programs outside of his teaching, such as being an advisor for Future Business Leaders of America and National Technical Honor Society. He is also a member of the county leadership for CTE.
“We, [the county leadership for CTE], decide different goals and things we’re going to work on,” Garner said. “We discuss issues, budgetary needs and Career and Technical Student Associations.”
Since Garner is involved in these activities, to be nominated for the NCCAT Teacher of the Year award, he went through a nomination process, involving multiple rounds of interviews and nominations, intended to narrow down the over 7,000 CTE teachers across the state to only 24 finalists. The 24 finalists then went to a week-long professional development conference in Cullowhee, NC to continue their interview process.
“We had to go through three different interviews with different representatives, some were retired educators, some were former district CTE leaders and a lot of the individuals were from the Department of Public Instruction,” Garner said.
Photo by Allen Hutchinson
While Garner was one of the 24 finalists, he wasn’t expecting to win CTE Teacher of the Year.
“It definitely was a surprise,” Garner said. " I never thought that I was the top CTE teacher because some of these other teachers are doing some amazing things.”
Garner also won Teacher of the Year here at Rose. The nomination process for Rose Teacher of the Year is less complex, as it is only a week-long nomination process and a final vote. However, Garner believes that this award is even more important because he was selected by his peers that try their best to make Rose a better place for students.
“I see how hard people work in this building that are equally deserving of that award too,” Garner said.
Garner has been teaching CTE since he first became a teacher. Garner believes that CTE is a practical set of subjects that all students can learn and apply in their everyday lives or even their careers.
“You can realistically leave any of our classes with an employable skill, credential or certification that you can immediately walk in and get a job,” Garner said.
