‘Chicken farmer’ turned teacher is Cherokee Teacher of Year

Brian Carnes, who made a career change 12 years ago from the poultry industry, sometimes jokes of his success as a teacher, “not bad for an old chicken farmer.” The ‘chicken farmer’ who teaches science at Sequoyah High School is Cherokee County School District’s 2017 Teacher of the Year. “I was very surprised and excited just be to named Sequoyah High School’s Teacher of the Year … it’s such an excellent school. I know all of the great teachers we have in Cherokee County, so this,” the Cherokee County native said after being surprised with the district honor by school superintendent Brian Hightower, “this is just kind of overwhelming to me.” The district Teacher of the Year is selected by a panel of community leaders, who evaluate applications from each school’s Teacher of the Year, who are selected by their peers. Carnes will be honored in December at the annual “Legacy Makers: CCSD Teachers of the Year Celebration” and will be Cherokee County Schools’ nominee for Georgia Teacher of the Year; the winner will be named in the spring.