NC Western Region Teacher of the Year
By Emma Castleberry
Ryan Mitchell, a second-grade teacher at Mills River Elementary, has been selected as the North Carolina Western Region Teacher of the Year. Susanna Cerrato, who earned the title in 2021, was part of the committee that interviewed Ryan and 11 other district teachers for the honor. “One is selected as a Regional Teacher of the Year due to his efficacy as an educator, his ability to prioritize the social and emotional wellbeing of children and his prowess as an advocate for educators and students,” says Cerrato. “This is an opportunity to be an advocate at the state level with your fellow regional cohort members. With the chosen State Teacher of the Year at the helm, the Regional Teachers of the Year work together to form an advocacy platform for the students and educators in the public school system of NC.”
Cerrato, who is a third-grade teacher at Ira B. Jones Elementary School in Asheville, calls Mr. Mitchell “one of the most innately positive educators” she has ever met. “He is a natural leader in his school and district and is never afraid to help, engage, give voice to those who need it and advocate for change that would benefit students. Ryan puts his students first and is a reflective practitioner who never misses a chance to learn something new.”
Mitchell graduated from Appalachian State University in 2011 with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with a concentration in Social Studies. He taught third grade at EJ Hayes Elementary in Williamston, NC, and fourth grade at Sugarloaf Elementary in Hendersonville before starting as a second-grade teacher at Mills River in 2018. “The best part of teaching any grade is getting to be around the children,” he says. “I love getting to make connections with students and building relationships that last past the one year we are together.” As a second-grade teacher, he has specifically enjoyed the focus on reading. “It is often said that in this grade level students transfer from ‘learning to read’ to ‘reading to learn,’” he says. “To see students gain confidence in their reading, fall into the world of books and really grow comprehension skills is so fun for me to see.”
Sarah Barton’s son is a student of Mr. Mitchell’s this year. “My son has thrived in Mr. Mitchell’s energetic, engaging and supportive classroom,” Barton says. “I know that my son is not only supported by his teacher but by his peers as well, because this is something Mr. Mitchell cultivates.”
Mitchell was informed that he’d won Regional Teacher of the Year at a surprise ceremony planned by his school. When Barton’s son came home after the ceremony, she asked about Mr. Mitchell’s reaction. “My son paused and said that, while Mr. Mitchell was very happy and honored, he values people over things. It was the people—like my son, his classmates and the school community—that really mattered to Mr. Mitchell.”
The teacher echoes the sentiment of his student—that the people he’s surrounded by are the most important force in his career and life. “I have had so many people pour into me over the course of my career from my very first year till now,” he says. “In every classroom I look into during the day or year, I see something new I want to try or a strategy that is amazing. These colleagues push me to be better and to do more to grow my education tool box each day. The community of Mills River Elementary is an amazing family. And that family has been the biggest support, encouragement and pusher in these past years of my career.”
For more information about the NC Regional Teachers of the Year, visit dpi.nc.gov.