{"530581":{"#nid":"530581","#data":{"type":"news","title":"GIFT Teacher Casey Bethel Named 2017 Georgia Teacher of the Year","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022Paragraph SCX44358785\u0022\u003EMr. Casey\u0026nbsp;M.\u0026nbsp;Bethel,\u0026nbsp;an AP Physics, AP Biology and Physical Science teacher at New Manchester High School in Douglas County, was named\u0026nbsp;the 2017 Teacher of the Year for the state of Georgia.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Paragraph SCX44358785\u0022\u003EMr. Bethel, passionate educator, GIFT teacher, accomplished scientist and mentor to students of all ages\u0026nbsp;had planned to become a surgeon, but changed his mind about medicine while in graduate school.\u0026nbsp;There\u0026nbsp;while conducting research and working with undergraduate students,\u0026nbsp;he discovered\u0026nbsp;a passion for teaching. \u201cI turned to education, and I never felt so alive,\u201d he wrote in his application for the Georgia Teacher of the Year contest.\u0026nbsp;Although\u0026nbsp;experiencing success as a teacher, he\u0026nbsp;further\u0026nbsp;sought ways to enhance student learning, landing in the\u0026nbsp;Center for Education Integrating Science, Math and Computing\u0026nbsp;(CEISMC) Georgia Intern-Fellowships for Teachers (GIFT) program. There\u0026nbsp;he\u0026nbsp;has spent several summers\u0026nbsp;interning as a researcher\u0026nbsp;in the\u0026nbsp;College of Sciences\u0026nbsp;Biochemistry lab of Dr. Raquel Lieberman,\u0026nbsp;hoping to find cures for Alzheimer\u2019s disease and Glaucoma.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Paragraph SCX44358785\u0022\u003EIn addition to maintaining a track record of high student achievement, he aims to inspire the\u0026nbsp;next generation of scientists. Teaching lessons he designed\u0026nbsp;based on his GIFT experiences\u0026nbsp;have been published in\u0026nbsp;The Journal of Chemical Education.\u0026nbsp;In 2012 he was awarded the Paul A. Duke Action Plan award by\u0026nbsp;(CEISMC).\u0026nbsp;He\u0026nbsp;also represented\u0026nbsp;CEISMC\u2019s GIFT\u0026nbsp;program as a presenter at the 2015 International Teacher-Scientist Partnership Conference.\u0026nbsp;At New Manchester High, he sponsors the Chick Fil-A Leader Academy and Project Manhood, a male mentoring group which\u0026nbsp;has been highlighted in local publications.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Paragraph SCX44358785\u0022\u003E\u201cWe are so proud of Casey\u2019s accomplishments and count him as one of the CEISMC and Georgia Tech family.\u202f Through university-school partnerships like GIFT---we can transform teaching and learning for students in Georgia,\u201d said Dr.\u0026nbsp;Lizanne\u0026nbsp;DeStefano, Executive Director, CEISMC.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Paragraph SCX44358785\u0022\u003EThe\u0026nbsp;Teacher of the Year (TOTY)\u0026nbsp;Competition\u0026nbsp;is sponsored by the Georgia Department of Education.\u0026nbsp;The chosen teacher becomes an ambassador\u0026nbsp;for all Georgia public school teachers, school systems, and students. The Georgia TOTY\u0027s numerous engagements\u0026nbsp;include recognition before the Georgia House and Senate during the session of the General Assembly;\u0026nbsp;speaking to various groups throughout the state;\u0026nbsp;conducting staff development activities for other teachers; serving\u0026nbsp;on statewide committees; and attending and participating\u0026nbsp;in numerous state conferences The GTOTY typically takes a one-year sabbatical working directly with the Georgia Department of Education. He will represent Georgia in the 2017 National Teacher of the Year competition.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022Paragraph SCX44358785\u0022\u003EMr. Casey\u0026nbsp;M.\u0026nbsp;Bethel,\u0026nbsp;an AP Physics, AP Biology and Physical Science teacher at New Manchester High School in Douglas County, was named\u0026nbsp;the 2017 Teacher of the Year for the state of Georgia.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"GIFT Teacher Casey Bethel Named 2017 Georgia Teacher of the Year"}],"uid":"28054","created_gmt":"2016-04-27 22:58:48","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:32","author":"Steven Taylor","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-05-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-05-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"530591":{"id":"530591","type":"image","title":"Casey Bethel","body":null,"created":"1461963600","gmt_created":"2016-04-29 21:00:00","changed":"1475895310","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:10","alt":"Casey Bethel","file":{"fid":"214747","name":"caseybethel.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/caseybethel_0.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/caseybethel_0.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":24895,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/caseybethel_0.jpeg?itok=xGneqte_"}}},"media_ids":["530591"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"42911","name":"Education"}],"keywords":[{"id":"166948","name":"Casey Bethel"},{"id":"411","name":"CEISMC"},{"id":"170199","name":"CEISMC GIFT"},{"id":"166949","name":"Georgia Teacher of the Year"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBonnie F. Harris\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProgram Director, GIFT (Georgia Intern-Fellowships for Teachers)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECEISMC (Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E817 West Peachtree Street, NW, Suite 300\u003Cbr \/\u003EAtlanta, GA 30308 USA\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404.894.7530 (Direct Line)\u003Cbr \/\u003E404.894.9675 (FAX)\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["Bonnie.Harris@ceismc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}