Charleston County School District (CCSD) officials surprised five unsuspecting teachers today by announcing their selection of the Top 5 Finalists for 2026 Teacher of the Year.
The finalists are Coach Bradley Blake (Math Teacher) from West Ashley High School, Coach Anthony Galavotti (Science Teacher) from Lucy Beckham High School, Patrick Martin (English Teacher) from Charleston County School of the Arts, Rachel Meyer (Kindergarten Teacher) from Mary Ford Early Learning and Family Center, and Julie Sorensen (Third Grade Reading Teacher) from Matilda F. Dunston Elementary School.
One of those finalists will take over the reins from the district’s current Teacher of the Year, Katie Scheaffer (Thomas C. Cario Middle School). CCSD Superintendent Anita Huggins presented each finalist with flowers, balloons, and a plaque. At each stop along the route, live announcements and updates were provided on the District’s social media platforms. Photos from the day can also be found there.
Blake
Bradley Blake (WAHS)
As the son of an educator, teaching has always been woven into the fabric of Coach Blake’s life. Long before he had his own classroom, he learned what it meant to educate, mentor, and inspire by watching the adults who shaped Blake into the teacher and coach that he is today. His 25 years as a math teacher at West Ashley High School are a testament to that.
Coach Blake lives and works in West Ashley. He has been a coach in the community since the summer after his senior year of high school and has made a positive impact on the lives of more than 1,000 swimmers who have come through his program. During Blake’s teaching career, he has coached the high school swim team, served as an assistant soccer coach for years, and coached wrestling for 2 years. These connections are why he knows that he is not ready to leave the classroom. Blake also takes great pride in being known as a teacher who coaches rather than a coach who teaches.
Galavotti
Anthony Galavotti (Beckham)
Coach Galavotti has been a teacher for seven years, starting at Septima P. Clark Academy and then transitioning to Lucy Beckham High School in 2021. He came into the profession in an unconventional way, but he hasn’t looked back. In 2017, when Galavotti moved to Charleston for graduate school, he found himself coaching high school football while teaching introductory biology labs as a graduate assistant at the College of Charleston. The most influential experience that led him into teaching was his first season coaching football at West Ashley High School. After volunteering with the program, Galavotti was immediately drawn to the relationships formed with students and the responsibility that came with mentoring them. Coaching reinforced the importance of consistency, trust, and putting students first. Within the first week, he realized teaching would allow him to make a lasting impact.
These experiences shaped Galavotti’s "kid-first" philosophy as a high school science teacher. He believes meaningful learning begins with relationships, and when students feel known, valued, and supported, they are more willing to engage and grow. The impact he strives to make is rooted in creating an inclusive classroom environment where students feel safe being themselves while being challenged to become responsible and compassionate individuals.
Martin
Patrick Martin (SOA)
Martin is a 25-year veteran teacher who has been with CCSD teaching English 4 CP and Honors, AP Language and Composition, and Teacher Cadets for 12 years. The award-winning teacher serves at Charleston County School of the Arts, where he strengthens and elevates the teaching profession through excellence in instruction, mentorship, and advocacy. Struggle in the classroom and internalized failure were deeply personal to Martin as a young boy. A few teachers who believed in him and never lowered expectations helped him realize a bright future; those educators communicated their belief with clarity and consistency, reshaping how Martin saw school and himself.
Today, Martin creates classrooms where students feel seen, capable, and valued, especially those who arrive carrying doubt, frustration, or past failure. He intentionally replaces students’ deficit narratives with growth-based thinking by setting clear expectations, modeling revision as a normal and necessary part of learning, and giving feedback that emphasizes progress over perfection. Most importantly, Martin recognizes that those influential teachers, all those years ago, were also his mentors. Now, as a Teacher Cadet instructor and host teacher for student teachers, he can see the power of mentoring. This starts with trust. In Martin’s classroom, students track their own growth, reflect on setbacks, and see effort translated into improvement rather than punishment. Through consistent check-ins, public celebration of growth, and high-interest, choice-driven assignments, he helps students understand that improvement is not accidental—it is cultivated through structure, relationships, and belief.
Meyer
Rachel Meyer (Mary Ford)
Meyer is in her seventh year as a teacher with CCSD, specifically at Mary Ford. Her most meaningful contributions as an educator have been working to close the achievement gap through cultivating strong academic, family, and community foundations. To improve equity in student outcomes and close the racial achievement gap, she works tirelessly to ensure her students and families have access to the resources they need. Her students are supported, challenged, and most of all valued. And while the numbers matter, so does giving back to the community. Her commitment to education reaches beyond the classroom.
Meyers has immersed herself in several volunteer opportunities, including packing Backpack Buddies, donating to food banks, and participating in park cleanup efforts. She gives back to the community by actively seeking new volunteer opportunities and ways to get involved. Through volunteering, she has developed stronger connections to her community and better understands its needs and how best to support them.
One unique experience was providing independent, affordable swimming lessons. Shortly after moving to Charleston in early 2019, Meyer, a lifelong swimmer and seasoned swim coach, had conversations with families and other members of the community who were unsure how to teach their child to swim. Families expressed concern that private lessons were financially out of reach. She felt fortunate to have the skills and experience to help and began offering swim lessons at a fraction of the price local swim schools charged, teaching toddlers, children, and adults. Her core teaching philosophy is grounded in the unwavering belief that all students have the capacity to learn, grow, and meet high expectations. The root of this belief begins with creating a safe, supportive, and empowering learning environment, which she has done in the classroom and in the pool.
Sorensen
Julie Sorensen (Dunston)
Sorensen is in her fourth year as a teacher with CCSD and loves being a reading teacher at Dunston, a camp counselor, and an after-school care instructor. She fell deeply in love with the work of connecting students to a sense of purpose and possibility beyond what they could currently see - she found her calling. It was a drastic pivot from what she initially went to school for - environmental engineering. But after making the courageous decision to start over, pursuing a degree in Elementary
Education, Sorensen knew she was where she belonged. Some of Sorensen’s students carry heavy stories into our classrooms, and her greatest goal is that during the eight hours they spend with her each day, they feel safe, loved, challenged, and empowered to dream boldly. Through intentional relationship-building, restorative practices, and high expectations, Sorensen strives to create a classroom where students believe in both their worth and their potential. Despite the challenges her students face outside of school, Sorensen’s classroom consistently remains a place of structure, joy, and high academic expectations, where students demonstrate measurable growth and a strong sense of belonging.
Sorensen has been a volunteer soccer coach for children ages 9–12 for seven seasons. Over the years, she’s experienced seasons of great victory—winning every game and earning a trophy—as well as seasons of persistent loss. Regardless of the record, she’s learned that passion cannot be extinguished.
Though the setting shifts from the classroom to the soccer field, her purpose remains the same. On the field, she’s built relationships with students, families, and even school staff outside of the traditional school environment. This represents deep roots and a wide reach within the community she serves.
Superintendent Huggins and district leaders look forward to announcing the District Teacher of the Year in the coming months and send sincere congratulations to these excellent educators, who are a shining example of what is represented in every classroom across the district.
For more information, contact the Office of Communications at (843) 937-6303.