Officials with both the Gainesville and Hall County school districts gathered Wednesday morning to honor two teachers who were awarded $10K as Teachers of the Year.
The Melvin Douglas and Victoria Kay Ivester Foundation awarded two teachers of the year, one for the Gainesville School District and the other for Hall County. For Gainesville, Fair Street International Academy teacher Joy Holeman won the award, with Chestatee High School teacher Steven McIntyre taking home the award for Hall County.
Holeman teaches gifted students, operating as a Team Lead at the school. Previously, she taught fourth grade for 12 years.
“I am a product of the Gainesville city school system,” Holeman said. “So this is a great honor for me to represent my school, my alma mater. I love teaching. I love what I do, and it's just a great honor to be able to represent the school that helped me to get where I am today.”
McIntyre teaches audio, video and film technology to high school students, as he previously worked in broadcasting and television for 12 years before getting the job at Chestatee.
“To get to invest in these kids and then see them choose to do something in this or even go on and do other things, but to be a successful adult, that's the pride I get is to help them get to be a successful adult regardless what they want to do,” McIntyre said.
Both Holeman and McIntyre were given $10,000 by the Ivester Foundation.
“I come from a family of educators, my mother, my brother, three uncles, two aunts and others,” Gainesville Superintendent Jeremy Williams said. “What's interesting is you invest so much time, effort and energy into the kids that you serve. They never see the planning. They never see the tears. They sometimes see the smiles and the laughs, but as a teacher, you have to know that this is a calling that we do, that it's going to pay off in the future and you don't get to see what that future is.”
