Bethel High School’s one and only Sherry Murphy, a Success 101 teacher, was named the 2019-2020 High School Teacher of the Year.  She has been teaching for six years now, three being with Bethel High School.

Hampton City Schools held its Teacher of the Year Ceremony earlier this year on March 28, to honor their teachers of the year.  At this ceremony an Elementary School Teacher of the Year, Middle School Teacher of the Year, and High School Teacher of the Year were selected from a wide range of applicants.

“[She] contributes to the overall success of our school and to the enrichment of our students,” Ralph Saunders said about Sherry Murphy.

Murphy is a teacher for the Freshman Academy at Bethel High School. She currently teaches Success 101 and is the team lead for Team Discovery. Prior to her responsibilities in the Freshman Academy, Murphy was a special education teacher.

“ Teaching was not my first choice, My earliest career goal was to be a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader.”  Murphy said when confronted about her childhood aspirations.

Ultimately, she decided to pursue a career in education after landing a job with an educational program called CSteps. In that program, Murphy worked closely with special needs students and found her passion in teaching. Murphy then eventually settled on the pathway of education from her experiences with working in CSteps.

As a teacher, Murphy is familiar with many different teaching techniques especially when working with students who have special needs or learning disabilities. One of the techniques that she used with her students was a “brain break.” During a brain break, Murphy would allow for her students to unwind with music and dancing. While it may seem a bit unconventional, Murphy noticed the growth in her students.

In her current position as a Success 101 teacher, Murphy’s main role is to help students prepare for life outside of high school. One of the things she does in Success 101 is help students map out the next 10 years of their life through short-term and long-term goals. Murphy also uses her class as a study session for students who need the extra help maintain their grades.

“We try our best to prepare them not only for their high school career, but for life after high school. The goal is to make them life ready,” Murphy said about the Success 101 curriculum.

Sherry Murphy, a teacher under the Freshmen Academy, has contributed a lot to Bethel’s community. Those contributions have been formally recognized with her new title as High School Teacher of the Year.