Bibb County school district names Teacher of the Year

The Bibb County school district announced Tuesday evening its 2016 Bibb County Teacher of the Year at a banquet inside Mercer University's University Center.

Morgan Jarvis of Howard High School will carry the title for 2016 and also be in the running for Georgia Teacher of the Year.

Runner-up was Elda Bryan of Burdell-Hunt Magnet School. There were 43 teachers nominated for Teacher of the Year.

After being named Bibb's Teacher of the Year, Jarvis told The Telegraph he felt "mush" (referring to his high school's mascot, the huskies).

"That is the spirit of Howard," he said. "Work hard for success."

Jarvis gave praise and thanks to the Future Business Leaders of America students he advises.

"I am a better teacher for having been your FBLA adviser," he said, later adding, "They are an amazing group of students."

The application process Bibb follows for selecting Teacher of the Year starts with the teacher's home school.

Once the teacher is selected by the staff and/or the principal of the school, the teacher fills out an application that goes to a committee made up of school district personnel and current/former educators.

The first question on the application asks why the nominee got involved with teaching.

The committee said it looks for a "compelling story" and ranks each application based on "passion."

The teacher with the highest score becomes Teacher of the Year.

"We are very proud of Jarvis for being selected as the Teacher of the Year," Bibb County Superintendent Curtis Jones said. "He is an outstanding teacher, and man. I'm also very excited about the runners up. They have done an super job representing our school system, teaching our students and showing us what true education is about."

Brian Butler, Bibb's 2015 Teacher of the Year, who later became a top 10 finalist for Georgia Teacher of the Year, also said a few words.

"Winning Teacher of the Year doesn't necessarily mean you're the best teacher," he said. "It means you are representing all the fantastic things that are going on in your school."

All of Bibb's teachers -- who were nominated for Teacher of the Year and/or won a top distinction -- received awards from goodie bags to gift cards, to thousand-dollar scholarships.

Jarvis, who has taught at Howard High School since 2011, teaches business and computer science for all grades. He graduated from Valdosta State University with a bachelor's degree in education.

"We have the greatest job in the world," he said.

To contact writer David Schick, call 744-4382 or find him on Twitter@davidcschick.

This story was originally published October 27, 2015 at 9:29 PM with the headline "Bibb County school district names Teacher of the Year ."