Will Marrs has been honored as the Piedmont-Triad Regional Teacher of the Year for North Carolina. Current NC Teacher of the Year, Kimberly Jones, made the announcement in an assembly before second period on the morning of December 4th. This title goes along with the many positive things said about him during the pep rally. He was described as humble, kind, an all-around hard worker, knowledgeable, forgiving, a mentor, and helpful. Administrators say he treats every day like a new day, bringing in a positive attitude and working hard on and off campus. Students appreciate that he treats them like people.
“Mr. Marrs is a dawg, on God,” says sophomore Connor Dixson.
As the day began and news of a pep rally became widespread, students had a number of theories regarding the surprise assembly. Seniors Caden Alderman and Joey Sainz guessed that Principal Michael Pruitt would come out dressed as Santa Claus. Other students assumed it was for the recent back-to-back cheer wins or an announcement of the homecoming king nominees. Junior Chris De Vicente Guerrero’s idea may have been the most creative of all.
“Some guy is gonna come in on a BMX bike, do some tricks, and then talk about why bullying is bad.”
Only Dr. Georgia Taylor told me that she believed it was for Will Marrs to be named Regional Teacher of the Year.
While I was interviewing individuals about their ideas as to why there was a pep rally, cheerleaders like Ella Stage and Ellie Deas did stunts. The band played common football game hits, and the dancing boots helped boost the energy of the room with their moves. Mrs. Freeman was helping conspire and brought out a cake celebrating Mr. Marrs. The ceremony was attended not only by Superintendent Jeff Wallace and Human Resource Officer Jinda Haynes but also by friends and family who were in on the surprise. Pruitt also took this time to congratulate cheerleaders and the tennis teams for their latest awards and spoke about having the highest graduation rate in the history of Davie High, which is 88.6%. As part of the ceremony, Pruitt also recognized Kara Brusseau for winning Instructional Assistant of the Year.
Marrs now goes on to compete at the state level against eight of the state’s regional teachers for the honor of being named North Carolina Teacher of the Year.
