Greystone educator among final four for 2018-19 Alabama Teacher of the Year

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Greystone Elementary School second-grade teacher Carol McLaughlin has been named among the “final four" contenders for Alabama’s 2018-19 Teacher of the Year, a Hoover school official said.

McLaughlin now will travel to Montgomery for a May 9 ceremony during which state officials will announce the winner, as well as the Alternate Alabama Teacher of the Year.

The other three finalists are:

  • Meghan Allen of Minor Community School in Jefferson County
  • Blake Busbin of Auburn High School
  • Zestian Simmons of Booker T. Washington Magnet High School in Montgomery County

McLaughlin is in her 27th year as a teacher and her 11th year as a second-grade teacher at Greystone. She began her career as a reading teacher for Winfield City Schools in Marion County for four years and since then has taught first, second or third grade.

All of her career has been in Alabama schools, except one year as a third-grade teacher in Pennsylvania, according to her resume.

McLaughlin began her career using mostly traditional teaching methods but has sought out ways to make her instruction more creative and engaging, according to a biography she wrote after being named her school’s Teacher of the Year this year.

She creates a classroom environment where the students become leaders and are encouraged to be active in their own learning. She also tries to inspire other teachers to re-evaluate their teaching methods and create more innovative learning environments in their classrooms.

She was Winfield City Schools’ Teacher of the Year in 2005 and Greystone’s Teacher of the Year both this year and in 2006. The Greystone Parent Teacher Association also named her its Teacher of the Year in 2008 and 2015. She was certified by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards in 2008.

McLaughlin in 2015 started a worldwide Twitter educational chat called #2ndchat for teachers to share innovative ideas. Since 2014, she has organized monthly professional development opportunities for second-grade teachers throughout the Hoover school district, and she also has been a presenter at educational conferences and camps elsewhere. She was named a PBS Digital Innovator in 2016 and presented at the PBS Regional Summit that same year.

McLaughlin has bachelor’s degrees in elementary education and early childhood education and a master’s degree in elementary education, all from the University of Alabama.

This post was updated at 10:05 a.m. on April 25 with the names of all four finalists.