Staff Report

Wilbanks
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_Jaymi-Wilbanks.jpgWilbanks

NEWBERRY — Newberry Academy’s Jaymi Wilbanks has achieved the status of Master Teacher by the South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA).

With this honor, Wilbanks joins an exclusive group of teachers throughout the state of South Carolina, as only 14 teachers were selected to receive this honor in SCISA’s 12th year awarding the title. She will be recognized on Nov. 6 at the Master Teacher Pinning Ceremony during SCISA’s Fall Teachers’ Conference, to be held in Orangeburg.

Along with being one of a small list of teachers throughout the state to receive this honor, Wilbanks is also the first teacher from Newberry Academy to receive the Master Teacher designation. Wilbanks is a fourth grade instructor at the school.

SCISA describes a Master Teacher as one who is a dynamic instructor who engages and challenges his or her students, and who is also willing to share and collaborate with other faculty members for the benefit of the school. Master Teachers are considered to be true standouts in their field: they must have a minimum of five years of experience in the classroom, among other criteria set by SCISA.

The application portfolio is a comprehensive submission that includes samples of the teacher’s collaborations with other faculty members, dynamic teaching strategies, letters of recommendation from students, parents and colleagues, including the Head of School, and a video of the teacher instructing.

“We are thrilled that Jaymi has been named one of SCISA’s Master Teachers,” said Brian Fitzgerald, Newberry Academy Head of School. “She is a dynamic instructor who goes above and beyond for both her students and her fellow colleagues, and is most deserving of this recognition. We are proud to have such gifted teachers leading our students.”

Wilbanks has taught at Newberry Academy for 20 years, teaching both second and fourth grades. She also serves as the Academy’s Lower School Coordinator. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education with a minor in English at Presbyterian College in Clinton.

Wilbanks is a member of Christian Life in Columbia and also taught Sunday School to the church’s fifth grade girls. She and her husband, Chad, have three children – Kathryn, Jackson and Caleb – who all attend Newberry Academy.

The South Carolina Independent School Association is a non-profit, voluntary association of more than 105 independent schools serving more than 37,000 teachers and students.