RALEIGH — The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has named this year’s nine regional finalists for the 2026 Burroughs Wellcome Fund’s North Carolina Teacher of the Year.
The finalists are Gina Holste, Valle Crucis School, Watauga County (Northwest); Shannon Campbell, Wilson Early College Academy, Wilson County (North Central); Heather Dail, Hertford Grammar School, Perquimans County (Northeast); Jonathan Lancho Villa, Pilot Mountain Elementary School, Surry County (Piedmont Triad); Cason Justice, Swansboro High School, Onslow County (Southeast); Melissa Hollar Culp, St. James Elementary School, Lincoln County (Southwest); Nishelle Henson, Macon Middle School, Macon County (Western); Manzell Spencer Jr., Douglas Byrd Middle School, Cumberland County (Sandhills); and Stephanie Lane, Lake Norman Charter School, Mecklenburg County (Charter School).
“These nine individuals represent the very best of public education,” State Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green said in a press release. “From differentiating instruction for every child to coaching sports teams to planning school-wide initiatives, their impact goes far beyond the walls of their own classrooms. Their excellence is an inspiration.”
The 2026 Teacher of the Year will be named at an awards ceremony on April 24 at the Umstead Hotel in Cary. The ceremony will be livestreamed on the Department of Public Instruction’s social media accounts.
The winner will take over for the 2025 Teacher of the Year, Rachel Candaso, a middle school teacher from Pitt County Schools.
North Carolina’s Teacher of the Year recognition program started in 1970, and the state’s Department of Public Instruction and Burroughs Wellcome Fund have partnered on the Teacher of the Year award since 2013.
For more information on the Teacher of the Year award, visit the Department of Public Instruction website’s educator recognition programs page.
