Aynor teacher named an SC Teacher of the Year finalist

Horry County Schools’ Teacher of the Year 2023 has been recognized as a finalist for the state level’s highest honor.

Michelle “Renee” Atkinson of Aynor High School was surprised Friday morning at school by the South Carolina Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver. She was selected as one of five finalists in the state.

“We are honored to celebrate Renee as a finalist for this year’s award,” Weaver said. “Her heart truly lives in the classroom where she directly impacts the lives of her students every day. Renee is a blessing to Aynor High School and the entire school district of Horry County.”

This week, Weaver has been traveling around the state naming finalists. Teachers received a $10,000 check. Other finalists from around the state include Anne Reamer from Lexington School District Two, Amsavalli Velayuthan from Jasper County School District, Wayne Williams from Clover High School and Amanda “Mandy” DeMeio from Fort Mill.

Atkinson is a tenth through twelfth grade English teacher at Aynor. She earned her undergraduate degree in history from Clemson University, a master’s in secondary English from Francis Marion University and an educational specialist degree in curriculum and instruction from Liberty University in 2013. She has taught for 20 years.

In 2022, Atkinson was chosen as Horry County Schools’ Teacher of the Year during a special banquet in Myrtle Beach.

“Y’all, I’m shocked. I’m honored,” Atkinson said in her acceptance speech last May. “I’ve been honored and humbled through this whole process. Everybody here in this room …. everybody deserves this honor. I know how hard each and every one of you work, and I’m not more special than any one of you. We’re all here because we’re in the business of loving children and wanting to see them succeed.”

The previous year, Atkinson was named as a school-level teacher of the year.