Johnston County Public Schools is full of outstanding teachers who provide the best instruction to our 37,000-plus students each and every day. Each year, we have the privilege of working closely with the Johnston County Coalition of Chambers to identify the best of the best and eventually select an individual as Teacher of the Year.

We are proud to announce the 2026 semifinalists for the Flame for Learning Award:

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Meagan Leas

Archer Lodge Middle
Best Practice: Meaningful Movement in Mathematics

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Darby High

Clayton High
Best Practice: Community-Based Instruction for Life Skills Success

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Hermilo Arbuyes, Jr.

Cleveland High
Best Practice: From Inquiry to Exhibition: A Science Fair Model for Authentic Environmental Problem-Solving and School-Based Public Exhibition of Learning

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Natalia Jaramillo

Cooper Academy
Best Practice: Empowering bilingual minds through metacognitive strategies and cross-cultural classroom experiences

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Tracy Mitchell

East Clayton Elementary
Best Practice: Embracing Identity through Writing

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Amanda Dauphinais

Innovation Academy
Best Practice: The Great British Verse Off

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Alexa Knight

Meadow School
Best Practice: Math Solve & Sketch Showdown

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Courtney Barefoot

Meadow School
Best Practice: Creating inclusive and supportive environments

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

James Johnson

North Johnston High
Best Practice: Learning to Do, Doing to Learn

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Erica Morse

Polenta Elementary
Best Practice: Neural Downshifting

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Ana Zuniga

Selma Elementary
Best Practice: Building Responsibility and Belonging Through Weekly Classroom Jobs

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Carlotta Stillings

Selma Elementary
Best Practice: Enhancing Multilingual Learner’s Communication and Collaboration Through Student Role-Playing

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Elma Arquillano

Selma Elementary
Best Practice: Together We Grow: A Guided Path from Personalized Support to Group Learning Success

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Rebecca Reeves

Smithfield-Selma High
Best Practice: Humanized Inquiry: An engagement driven, Experience based approach to deep historical thinking

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Oscar Anasco Quezada

Smithfield-Selma High
Best Practice: Estaciones para hablar

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Cori Walker

South Johnston High
Best Practice: The Ultimate Power Play: A Student‑Led Energy Tournament

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

John Ross Robertson

South Johnston High
Best Practice: Talking Tree Trail Project

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Lena LeBoeuf

Swift Creek Elementary
Best Practice: Conversation Cafe’- Increasing Comprehension Through Conversation

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Moesha Gonzales

Swift Creek Middle
Best Practice: Learning Without Walls: Transformations, Activities and Problems that Matter

Flame For Learning Semifinalist

Dorothy Holley

West Johnston High
Best Practice: A Place at the Table — Teaching the Periodic Table in a Global Context

Congratulations to all of the nominees, and thank you for all you do for the students and families of Johnston County Public Schools. We look forward to celebrating each and every one of you during the celebration event.