English teacher celebrated as McDuffie County’s Teacher of the Year

MCDUFFIE, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A Thomson-McDuffie Middle School teacher is McDuffie County’s newest Teacher of the Year.

Telitita Burley, an eighth-grade English and language arts teacher at Thomson-McDuffie Middle School, has been named the McDuffie County School District’s Teacher of the Year.

Burley received the Golden Apple trophy during a ceremony Thursday, recognizing her six years of service and commitment to students across the district.

The district also celebrated the winners from each school, including:

• Beth Shedd ofDearing Elementary, 
• Kierra Dansby of Norris Elementary,
• Angel Afolabi of Thomson High
• Ettoniet Anderson of Maxwell Elementary

In her classroom, Burley encourages students to express themselves through literature while building the skills they need to become confident writers, thoughtful readers and critical thinkers.

“The amazing thing about teaching language arts is that students are often able to see themselves inside a character,” Burley said. “And that really helps them to be able to connect with the subject itself.”

Burley will next represent the McDuffie County School District in the Georgia Teacher of the Year program.