Pender County Schools’ Beginning Teacher (BT) Coach Team and five exceptional Beginning Teachers recently represented the district at the UNC-Charlotte 14th Annual Teacher to Teacher Conference. The conference, themed “For Teachers by Teachers,” provided educators from across the state with valuable professional development opportunities, and PCS was honored to play a key role.
The BT Coach Team—Lyndsay Paquette, Lisa Godwin, and Chase Parker-Morgan—accompanied five outstanding semi-finalists from the 2023-2024 PCS Beginning Teacher of the Year process to this prestigious event. The participating beginning teachers were:
Kassidi Justice (PILA, Middle Grades Math/Science)
Emily Tindal (C.F. Pope Elementary, 4th Grade ELA)
Chloe McVetta (Topsail Middle, 5th Grade Math/Science)
Brittany King (West Pender Middle, PE/Health)
Sarah Colla (South Topsail Elementary, EC Resources
The PCS team not only attended but presented three impactful breakout sessions at the conference. The BT Coaches—Chase, Lyndsay, and Lisa—led a session titled “Fostering the Future: Effective Strategies for Mentoring Beginning Teachers,” where they shared insights on best practices for supporting new educators.
Additionally, two of our talented beginning teachers showcased their expertise with solo presentations:
Emily Tindal: “A Work in Progress: How to Create Your ‘Teacher Identity’ as a Beginning Teacher”
Chloe McVetta: “Building Professional Identity & Increasing Resilience in the Classroom: Reflections from Beginning Teachers”
The BT Coach Team expressed immense pride in these educators for their leadership and willingness to share their experiences with fellow teachers from across North Carolina. Their presentations were well received and further highlighted the strength of PCS’s Beginning Teacher Support Program.
Additional Recognition for PCS at NCCAT Event
Beyond the UNC-Charlotte conference, Lisa Godwin represented PCS at the North Carolina Center for Teacher Advancement (NCCAT) Beginning Teacher Coordinator Institute at Guilford Technical Community College on Friday, March 28, 2025. Lisa led a breakout session on Differentiated Support Systems for Beginning Teachers and had the honor of delivering the closing keynote address, which spotlighted the Pender County Schools Beginning Teacher Support Program.
Her presentation followed the NC Beginning Teacher of the Year Ceremony at UNC-Greensboro on March 27, 2025, where Summer Espinosa was named the 2025 NCCAT Burroughs Wellcome Fund NC Beginning Teacher of the Year.
