Tar Heel Teachers at Home is a weekly interview series focused on engaging North Carolinians in conversations about education. Each week, a panel of educators interview a guest(s).

In this episode, the Tar Heel Teachers​ chat with Emilee Higdon who was recently named the NCCAT 2021 Prudential North Carolina Beginning Teacher of the Year. Emilee is a second-year high school English teacher at Union Academy in Macon County.

She shares why she chose to begin her career at an alternative school, how she makes positive connections with her students and families, misconceptions about alternative schools, and more.

This week’s panel:

• Moderator: Marlow M. Artis, creator, chief content purveyor, and executive producer of Tar Heel Teachers. Twitter: @TarHeelTeachers.
• Elementary School Panelist: Emily Golightly, media coordinator with Carteret County Public Schools. Twitter: @EmilyGolightly3.
• Middle School Panelist: Amy Tart, fifth grade teacher with Clay County Schools. Twitter: @Cards4Scholars.
• High School Panelist: Mika Twietmeyer, biology teacher with Durham Public Schools. Twitter: @MikaJHunter.
• Support Personnel Panelist: Aritia Smalls, AIG program specialist with Cumberland County Schools. Twitter: @SmallsAritia.
• Guest(s): Emilee Higdon, NCCAT 2021 Prudential NC Beginning Teacher of the Year.

Marlow Artis

Marlow Artis is the Creator and Chief Content Purveyor for Tar Heel Teachers, which encompasses a website, an educational panel talk show, a videocast: Tar Heel Teachers at Home, and an educational travel series: Tar Heel Teachers on the Road. In addition to moderating and executive producing these media platforms, he happily served for five years as a sixth grade English/Language Arts teacher.