Last Updated on December 1, 2023 7:16 pm
Watauga High School Auto Tech teacher Erik Mortensen has been announced as the 2024 Northwest Regional Teacher of the Year.
By way of a surprise from Watauga County Schools administration, Watauga County Board of Education members, Watauga High School faculty & staff, members of the North Carolina Department of Instruction (NCDPI), and local media, Mortensen was presented the award Friday afternoon. To get him out of the classroom, Superintendent Dr. Leslie Alexander asked Mortensen to check a tire on her vehicle she thought was going flat, allowing everyone to get in place.
Special guests included Kimberly Jones and Shea Bolick with NCDPI. Jones, the 2023 North Carolina Teacher of the Year shared comments from Mortensen’s students, parents of his students, and his colleagues that were written about him in the nomination process.
Mortensen was named Watauga County Schools district-wide Teacher of the Year back on May 5 of this year.
Videos: Kenneth Reece/WataugaOnline.com
Photos: Bailey Little/Watauga County Schools
