Haywood County Schools is proud to recognize Randy Pressley as not only Haywood County Teacher of the Year, but Region 8 Teacher of the Year.

Mr. Pressley teaches Math at Tuscola High School, where he has taught since 1986, and is loved by students and colleagues.  Randy graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education from WCU in 1986 and a Master of Arts in Education from WCU in 1992. He has taken on many leadership roles at THS, including serving as the Math Department Chair, PLC Leader and Math Competition Coordinator. He has also served on the 4 by 4 Planning Committee, the Attendance Committee, Spirit Committee, and Scholarship Committee and has hosted interns from WCU.

Mr. Pressley was selected as the Haywood County Teacher of the year in September. Throughout this process he had to complete a portfolio, classroom visit and interview with a committee of seven.

As a finalist for the Regional Teacher of the Year, he had to submit a teacher portfolio, participate in an interview with judges, parents and colleagues.

Quoted from Mr. Pressley’s Teacher of the Year Portfolio,  “As far as my greatest contributions to education, I don’t know that I have ever really done anything that would be called great by the average person on the street. It is so hard for me to talk myself up, but if I don’t brag on what is happening with my students, then I am doing them a great disservice. In my heart and in my soul and in my very being, I know that something special is happening with my children and I am contributing to their education – we have fun, we learn math, and we get ready for the real world. I contribute by leading by example with hard work and an unwavering dedication to success, day in and day out. I contribute by sharing stories of my many failures and how I have learned from those failures and turned them into successes.”

By:  Jenny Wood, Haywood County Schools Foundation