Erin Barefoot of Midway was named September's Teacher of the Month by the Sampson County Schools' "Teachers' Action for Growth" (TAG) Program. Other teachers who were also recognized in September were Wes Cone of Hobbton, Tonya Williams of Lakewood, Jennifer Wuester of Lakewood, Carolyn Bowden of Midway, Kandice Mott of Midway, Sarah Starkey of Midway, Wilma Gray of Union, Ashley Yancey of Union, and Sarah Cone of Sampson Early College. (Courtesy photo)

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Kristen Thomas-Lorenzo of Union was named November's Teacher of the Month by the Sampson County Schools' "Teachers' Action for Growth" (TAG) Program. Other teachers who were also recognized in November were Morgan Farroll of Hobbton, Darren Hulen of Lakewood, Kellie Chaney of Midway, Jennifer Honeycutt of Midway, and Rebecca Flegler of Midway. (Courtesy photo)

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Richie Warren of Hobbton was named October's Teacher of the Month by the Sampson County Schools' "Teachers' Action for Growth" (TAG) Program. Other teachers who were also recognized in October were Toshieba Ragland of Lakewood, Jonathan Wilkes of Midway, and Amy Evans of Union. (Courtesy photo)

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Sampson County Schools is busy playing tag. No, they’re not participaing in the playground favorite you’re recalling from childhood. They are recognizing hard-working high school teachers.

TAG stands for “Teachers’ Action for Growth,” a new high school teacher recognition program for Sampson County Schools. In the program, teachers are observed and “tagged” when they demonstrate the instructional skills and strategies called for by the new Common Core Curriculum. Their “tags” are then put into a hat and the Teacher of the Month is drawn.

Along with being named Teacher of the Month, the chosen teacher also receives a technology gift to help them in the classroom as they use the new strategies and skills required.

Tommy Macon, director of Secondary Education for Sampson County Schools, believes the new teacher recognition program encourages teachers to “embrace the new curriculum and exhibit effective teaching strategies, setting the course for student growth.”

The new Common Core Curriculum standards have been adopted by 45 states, and through strategies like differentiation, collaboration, rigor, and paideia seminar, the focus is shifted from teacher lectures to more student -ed discussions.

The objective of these new standards is to “better prepare students for the global society of the 21st century so that they can be competitive and successful,” says Macon.

“With the new curriculum, paideia seminar for example, the teachers set the framework and guide the students, but the students lead the conversation,” explains Macon. “This strategy helps us move the students to the forefront.”

Macon realizes that the curriculum transition will be challenging and will certainly take time. “The teachers have got to transition from the old to the new ways of teaching. It will not happen in a couple of weeks or in a semester. It’s a process,” says Macon.

“We need to recognize the efforts of the teachers through the process,” says Macon. “They are much appreciated and often don’t get the credit they deserve for their hard work.”

Teacher recognitions will continue monthly until the end of the school year.

Lauren Williams can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 123 or via email at lwilliams@heartlandpublications.com.