Cherokee County school officials have announced their Teacher of the Year, an elementary educator who’s led the district in the expansion of its science and math offerings to students.

Ball Ground Elementary School STEM Academy teacher Joy Silk has helped with the creation of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) academies in Cherokee, according to district officials. She’s also taught in the school system’s gifted program.

The district’s Teacher of the Year is selected by a panel of community leaders, who evaluate applications from each school’s Teacher of the Year. The school winners are selected by their peers.

Silk will be honored in December at the district’s annual Teacher of the Year Banquet. She also will be entered as the district’s nominee for 2016 Georgia Teacher of the Year, which will be announced in the spring.

Silk began her teaching career in 2000 at Boston Elementary in Woodstock. She then taught at Hasty Elementary and R.M. Moore Elementary before joining Ball Ground STEM Academy in 2012.

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