Dance teacher Betsy Graves, was named the 2017-18 Wake County Teacher of the Year on Monday, May 8, at a ceremony to honor the 13 teacher of the year finalists.

  Upon winning Wake County Teacher of the Year, Graves was awarded a $1,000 check, as well as entrance into the state teacher of the year contest.

  Graves has been a part of the Broughton community for four years, since 2013. Graves graduated from Meredith College and began her teaching career as a student teacher at Panther Creek High School.

  “Ms. Graves is an amazing role model for all of us. Her dedication to the program and all of her students is more than we could ever ask for. She builds everyone into confident dancers and people and we are so insanely grateful for her,” junior Hannah Schafer said.

  Graves is dedicated to the Broughton community and teaches dance classes during school hours, and after school she is involved in Queen of Hearts coordination, the Broughton Food Pantry, and the PowderPuff games in the fall.

  The main part of being the teacher of the year, however, is not how involved she is in the Broughton community, but how amazing she is as a teacher. Graves is adored by all of her students, as well as the staff at Broughton.

    “Ms. Graves is so deserving of this recognition because of her countless hours of dedication to the dance program and Broughton. She goes above and beyond to give us so many opportunities to grow and improve as dancers and artists. She is an amazing role model and I’m so glad to have her as a teacher,” senior Katie Childrey said.

  Principal Elena Ashburn had kind words to say about Graves after she was announced as Wake County’s Teacher of the Year.

  “Ms. Graves has built an incredible dance program, and I think that the reason she’s so successful is that she really cares about kids and their development as people, while also having really high expectations for students learning the discipline. She has a great balance between caring for the kids and teaching them the subject,” Ashburn said.

  Broughton celebrated Graves as a school on Tuesday, May 9, the day after she was named the winner. Graves was congratulated in Holliday gym by the entire student body.