Teachers, Employees of the Year Honored at PCS Awards Banquet

Emily Sims, who is in her seventh year as an educator at Eastern Elementary School, was named the 2025-26 Pitt County Schools Teacher of the Year during an awards banquet sponsored by the Pitt County Farm Bureau at Rock Springs Center on Wednesday.

Sims' selection highlighted an event that also recognized runner-up Elyse McRae of South Central High School, two additional finalists for the county's top teaching honor, the district's beginning teacher of the year and five classified employees of the year.

In her 16th overall year as an educator, Sims currently teaches kindergarten in the K-5 school after joining the Eastern faculty in 2018 as a third-grader teacher. She started her teaching career in 2008 at Lakeview Elementary School in Amarillo, Texas and spent three additional years as a preschool teacher before moving to Pitt County in 2017. After serving as the Children's Ministry Director at Opendoor Church for one year, Sims joined PCS where she has engaged in many of the system's training, mentorship and leadership opportunities.

She earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education from West Texas A&M in 2009. Sims currently serves on the Teacher and Literacy Advisory Councils and is active in both Resilience and Neurodivergent Training and completed full LETRS training in 2024.

Sims immediately succeeds Rachel Candaso of Wellcome Middle School, who was chosen as the district's 2024-25 teacher of the year before earning top regional honors and advancing as a state finalist.

McRae has spent all 13-plus years with Pitt County Schools at South Central teaching in the social studies curriculum, including AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination), world history, AP psychology, civic literacy and economics and personal finance. Since 2015, she has played an active staff development leadership role with beginning or future teachers, serving as the PCS Beginning Teacher & New Hire Facilitator 9-12 (classroom management) through a partnership with the district's Division of Educator Effectiveness and Leadership (DEEL) Office. 

A 2011 graduate of East Carolina University with a bachelor's degree in history education, McRae was a member of former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper's Advisory Committee of Educators beginning in 2017 and still holds long-term memberships in the N.C. Association of Educators and Delta Kappa Gamma. She also currently serves as South Central's AVID Site Coordinator, an ECU Practicum Student Mentor and a SCHS Link Crew and Freshman Orientation Coordinator. 

Other finalists included Caroline Fairbrother (Elmhurst Elementary School) and Jacqueline Hill (South Greenville Elementary School). Additionally, Aiyana Mourino (Grifton School) was recognized as PCS's representative for 2025 NCCAT Empower Beginning Teacher of the Year honors.

Another featured event during the banquet was recognizing five deserving individuals as Pitt County Schools Employees of the Year, which covers various classified staff positions.

Winners honored were Felicia Cabarrus from C.M. Eppes Middle School (school nutrition manager), Mickie Fields from Eastern Elementary School (custodian), Teresa Harris from H.B. Sugg Elementary School (teacher assistant), Tabettye Holloman from Sadie Saulter Educational Center (office/clerical) and Amber Wilson from Eastern Elementary School (school nutrition employee).