FORT BRAGG, N.C. - In a teacher's voice, you'll find wisdom, motivation and perseverance. One local teacher's dedication has earned her the title of the 2010 Department of Defense Education Activity's North Carolina Teacher of the Year.
Darla Williamitis, a Fayetteville native and teacher, is a fifth and sixth grade learning impaired teacher for students who have mild-to-moderate disabilities at Irwin Intermediate School at Fort Bragg.
Before working at Irwin Intermediate School, Williamitis taught at Seventy-First High School in Fayetteville.
"I started working in 1998 as a high school special education teacher," she said. "I taught resource and inclusion teaching for all levels of math in pre-algebra and algebra."
Williamitis said she hadn't initially thought of special education as a career.
"It wasn't until when I was working in banking in the trust department when the company began downsizing," she said. "So I opted to go back to school."
Williamitis said she had taken a variety of courses in college, but it wasn't until she met some special education teachers who helped her find her true calling in life.
Williamitis said she hadn't expected to be the teacher of the year.
"One day we had an emergency meeting in the media center including the superintendent and assistant superintendent," she said.
"I thought something bad had happened until I was told I was the DoD Teacher of the Year for the entire state of North Carolina."
She said she was shocked when she was notified as the winner.
Tim Howle, the principal of Irwin Intermediate School, said he was confident Williamitis would win the award because he previously worked with Williamitis at Seventy-First High School.
"I knew she was going to win," said Howle. "She is dedicated, knowledgeable and one of the very best teachers I've been around."
According to Howle, Williamitis is the first special education teacher to win the DoDEA North Carolina Teacher of the Year award.
The students also give testimony to Williamitis' hard work and dedication in education.
"She is a great teacher to me," said Regan Walker, a sixth grade student. "She helped me to get good grades in math and other subjects."
Another sixth grader student also remarked on her teaching abilities.
"She is fun to work with," said Jamal Black. "She words everything for me to help me understand the classes."
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