Roxana Rojas, a kindergarten teacher at Seawell Elementary School in Chapel Hill, was named the 2023-24 Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Teacher of the Year at the district’s Recognition Celebration on Thursday.

“It is a huge honor. I am so deeply proud of this,” Rojas said. “I came to the United States when I was 5 years old and struggled so much in school, and as I was growing up I wanted to be the change for other students. And here in Chapel Hill I not only found my voice, I found so much more power in what I can do for my community, for my students and for everyone who’s involved.”

A full video of the recognition ceremony can be found here.

Rojas received a $1,000 check from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation. The two other finalists, Carrboro High creative writing and English teacher Raquel Harris and Culbreth Middle seventh-grade English teacher Linda Kroger, each received $500 checks. All school-based teachers of the year received $100 checks.

Rojas will now be a nominee for the North Central region’s Teacher of the Year award, which will be announced later in the summer. Should Rojas win that award as well, she would then be a nominee for the state-wide North Carolina Teacher of the Year award.

Rojas has eight years of teaching experience and earned her master’s degree in education from UNC-Chapel Hill. She is Seawell’s Kindergarten representative on the School Improvement team and is the school’s equity coach.

 

Featured image via Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools

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