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Cabarrus County’s Summer Espinosa was named the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) 2025 Burroughs Wellcome Fund NC Beginning Teacher of the Year at a ceremony on Mar 27, 2025 at UNC-Greensboro.
Espinosa is a kindergarten teacher at WR Odell Primary School in Cabarrus County Schools. Upon receiving the award, she had many people to thank, including her students.
“I want to thank my students. They make every day in this profession worth it, and seeing their love for learning grow each day in our classroom is the reason I wanted to be a teacher. I couldn’t love them more. I know the reason why I’m here today is because of the schools and the teachers that poured into me as an educator. I try to be that role model and that person for my students every day,” said Espinosa.
Ahead of receiving the award, this is how Espinosa was introduced:
“This teacher believes that learning should feel like a celebration where every child is valued and every lesson invites curiosity, laughter and growth. This teacher begins each day, not just with a lesson plan, but with intention. Her classroom is a place where children are greeted by name, hugged at dismissal, and reminded every single day that they are loved.
She believes deeply that when students feel seen, safe and supported they will rise to meet expectations and exceed them. One of her colleagues said you always hear that teachers make a difference, but with her, you see it, whether it’s in the face of a kindergartener beaming with pride as they showcase their writing on the Apple TV or a reluctant learner finally learning sounds thanks to a dinosaur game she’s designed just for him.
This teacher shows up with art, creativity and the belief that every child can succeed. Her classroom is filled with art walls, family photos, plays, cultural quilts and student ideas. It’s not her classroom, it’s theirs. She builds a space of belonging and ownership where students know their voices matter, they’re given choices, they’re encouraged to play, and they’re challenged to grow, because she makes learning feel both exciting and achievable.
She celebrates every win, big and small, and shows students that progress is worth noticing. One colleague said it best kindergarten has a huge impact on the child’s entire educational experience, and she is a bright light to North Carolina students.“
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The finalists
The runner-up for the NCCAT 2025 Burroughs Wellcome Fund NC Beginning Teacher is Pieter Westerbeek from Wake County Public Schools.
Westerbeek is a special education teacher at Knightdale High School who “serves students with some of the most complex and significant needs and he meets those needs with compassion, patience and a belief in what is possible,” said Richard Schwartz, president of the NCCAT Development Foundation Board, when announcing Westerbeek.
The 2025 NCCAT North Carolina Beginning Teachers of the Year finalists are:
De’Ana Tyson | Alamance-Burlington School System
Andrew Cerillo | Ashe County School System
Luca Clemens | Asheville City School System
Katherine (Kate) Hilsabeck | Bradford Preparatory School
Malachi Curtis | Burke County Public School System
Kalah Wilson | Carolina Charter Academy
Lauren Oliver | Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School System
Rebekah Byrd | Clinton City School System
Haleigh Jo Baker | Cumberland County School System
Julie Morgan | Currituck County School System
Makenna Rose | Greene County School System
Alexander (Alex) Holmes | Guilford County School System
Scott Denton | Harnett County School System
Amber Maxwell | Hoke County School System
Grace Gaskins | Hyde County School System
Emma Maney | Jackson County Public School System
Priscilla Baker | Martin County School System
Kevin Ojaniit | New Hanover County School System
Yocelyn Almanza-Figueroa | Newton-Conover City School System
Kristen Douglas | Northeast Academy for Aerospace and Advanced Technologies (NEAAT)
Estefania Page | Rutherford County School System
Bella Dobbins | Stanly County School System
Sydney Coe | Surry County School System
Raven Spencer | Union County Public School System
Ashley Harper | Wayne County Public School System
A week of learning
The 27 finalists spent the week of the award ceremony together for professional development at the Truist Leadership Institute in Greensboro.
These teachers were selected for their dedication, innovation, and ability to inspire students to succeed. The award is meant to celebrate promising beginning teachers as outstanding educators and leaders in North Carolina public and charter schools, according to this press release.
“We have outstanding teachers in our state and we have 27 of them right now with our beginning teacher of the year program. We’re just excited to serve them this week, and excited for them to go back to classrooms and make a difference for their students,” said Brock Womble, executive director of NCCAT
The purpose of the professional development week is to build the leadership and skills of beginning teachers with hopes of them taking that learning back to the classroom and enriching the lives of their students.
“Another thing that’s become a goal for me that wasn’t initially with the beginning teacher of the year, is to build the leadership skills of identified leaders who end up as finalists for this program,” said Karen Sumner, deputy executive director of NCCAT. “What we’ve been able to do with this week of professional development, it’s not your sort of traditional beginning teacher support. It’s about things they might not be exposed to otherwise, and this underlying layer of leadership skills, where they can lead, not just in their classroom, but in their school and community.”
Alexander Holmes, a finalist from Guilford County Schools, said this about his experience with NCCAT:
“It’s special. I think coming here, it’s an honor just to represent the staff and the students at my high school. Coming into teaching I was not familiar with any teaching awards. You don’t go into teaching for pomp and circumstance.
Coming into this week, it’s just been a reminder of the staff at my school who have been so patient with me, who have become my mentors, when they may not necessarily know they’re being my mentors. I’m just really grateful for the opportunity to represent my staff and students.
The organization has taken care of us so incredibly well. It almost feels like a nice reset. We’re over halfway through the year, and as beginning teachers, there’s still so much that we are learning and we are trying to figure out. So coming here and listening to hands-on professional development sessions has been quite helpful. I can implement some of these practices, like as soon as I return to my class next week.”
Kalah Wilson, a teacher at Carolina Charter Academy, said this about her experience:
“It’s been great. I love it here. They’re great people, very helpful and accommodating, and I think the coolest thing is feeling like you are a professional. Because oftentimes teachers, we don’t get that kind of acknowledgement that that some of our other professions get, as far as like you know a doctor or or someone that you already know is an esteemed person.
I think the teachers deserve that as well, because of the kind of work that we put in and all the hours and professional development, and, you know, the difficulties of our job, so it’s nice to be recognized at that level.”
Why teaching?
De’Ana Tyson, a teacher from Alamance-Burlington Schools, said this about why she chose teaching:
“I actually have a pretty non-traditional route into education. I did not go to school for education. I actually got my degree from North Carolina A&T in business management. I was kind of into the whole project management HR sector, in the corporate America world. I went into a corporate job with a steel fabrication company right after graduation in 2022 and it was paying the bills, but it wasn’t fulfilling. I was just going to work to pay my bills. I was grateful for that opportunity, but I didn’t feel like I was pursuing my purpose.
“I knew that I was good with youth. I knew I was good with handling children, more on the caretaking side, but as it pertained to education, I was a little nervous about my ability to actually be the sole educator of 12 and 13-year-olds. But [my mentor] said ‘No, you can do it. You’ll have the tools that you need. You’ll have the support that you need. Just try it.’
So I tried it. I tried it, and here I am in my second year, finally feeling like I’m fulfilling my purpose, and my heart is so full in knowing that I’m making such a difference and such an impact on my students.”
Haleigh Jo Baker, a teacher from Cumberland County Schools, said this about her why for teaching:
“When I was a little girl, I wanted to be everything under the sun. I wanted to be a landscaper like my dad. I want to be a hairdresser because I loved getting my hair done and a makeup artist because I loved getting my makeup done. I wanted to be a nurse. I mean, I wanted to be everything.
When I was in the sixth grade, I actually attended a charter school up until my ninth grade year, and I had this very impactful and inspirational math teacher when I was in sixth grade. Her name was Jody Pearson, and…she took the time to meet one-on-one with students, for those who weren’t getting it, while she pushed those who had nailed it forward. It just created this environment of challenging us and pushing us forward.
That was where my inspiration came from, becoming a teacher. From there, that love of teaching grew, and I was the person who went home and I made my parents put a whiteboard up in my room, and I would teach my pillows because it was really what I wanted to do. I was young, but I knew this is what I had in my heart, and it was my passion and my calling.”
