Long County High School has named its 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year. Sabrina Caines was named Teacher of the Year on Friday, May 7.
Caines has spent her entire teaching career at Long County High School, beginning in 2009 and remaining in the English department since. An alumna, Caines was very excited about being given this award by her peers and colleagues.
“My initial reaction was one of surprise because the other teachers on the TOTY ballot are amazing and I did not expect to be chosen over either of them,” she said. “It was extremely flattering just to be listed amongst teachers of that caliber.”
This is the third year in a row that an English teacher was named Long County High School Teacher of the Year as Tarsa Podunavac won the award in 2019 and Christina Jennings last year. Caines adds this honor to her other honor of being named STAR Teacher.
The STAR Teacher is selected by the STAR Student, the student who is in the top ten of the graduating class as well as having the highest SAT score. Malia Roberson selected Caines as the 2020-21 STAR Teacher.
This is Caines’s second time being named STAR Teacher, adding to her 2017 honor. She described the honor of winning both awards as “surreal” and “extremely fulfilling”.
“Being selected for TOTY by my co-workers is a great honor, and being selected by a student as the teacher who has had the most impact on their education is extremely fulfilling,” Caines said. “I went into the field of education hoping to have a lasting impact on the students I teach and being chosen as STAR teacher was an affirmation that I may be doing something right in that regard.”
Caines has taught in the Long County High School English department while serving as department for the last seven years. She has been the main English as a Second Language teacher as well as the Yearbook advisor for the last six years as well.
She has continued to show her worth as a teacher for Long County and she knows how much of an honor it is to be named both Teacher of the Year and STAR Teacher. She credited her students, co-workers, and school system for her honors.
“I work with some of the best teachers in the area and have great respect for them. I try to be a team player and treat my co-workers with respect,” she explained. “I care deeply about my students and always try to do the best I can for them. I take great pride in being part of the Blue Tide family, trying to represent them positively at all times.”
Caines now joins the rest of the Long County School System teachers to compete for system Teacher of the Year with the winner later competing for Georgia state Teacher of the Year.