CLEVELAND, Ga. –Heather Talton was recently named Teacher of the Year in the White County School District and will now compete for Georgia Teacher of the Year.

School Superintendent Dr. Jeff Wilson said, “She is just an unbelievable teacher for our special needs students. She has an incredible amount of patience in working with both students and parents to ensure they get what they need and develop the life skills. It is a difficult population to work with and she has been super.”

The process for naming the teacher of the year begins with each district school making nominations. A committee made up of personnel directors from other school districts then interviews the finalists to avoid any chance of favoritism.

After the interview, the Teacher of the Year is chosen and is then eligible to compete for Georgia Teacher of the Year. The winner will then be announced in January.

Talton is married to Pete Talton, a drama teacher at White County High School. They have two children, Silas and Wesleigh.

Kim Sartain was chosen as White County Employee of the Year and Donna Garrett was selected as the system’s Bus Driver of the Year,

Sartain is the nurse at JP Nix Elementary. “Kim does a wonderful job taking care of our sick and injured students and helps promote a healthy life style for our students and staff,” Wilson said. “We are blessed to have a wonderful nurse like Kim serving our kids.”

Donna Garrett has been a bus driver for 26 years for the White County School System. She drives for JP Nix.

“Donna has safely transported our kids in White County for more than 26 years. Donna is the first school person a child sees in the morning and the last school person a child sees in the afternoon. Donna is loved and respected by all her children and often goes beyond the call of duty to make sure that her kids have everything they need. Donna is well deserving of this honor.”