‘The most amazing teacher.’ Apex school celebrates the new Wake Teacher of the Year.
It’s been all about teamwork at Apex Friendship Middle School, so the family of students and school employees turned out en masse Friday morning to cheer one of their own being named Wake County’s new Teacher of the Year.
Students and staff chanted her name as eighth-grade social studies teacher Lindsey Evans did a victory lap around the school with confetti poppers bursting in the air.
The celebration culminated in the school lobby with more cheers and the school band playing “Celebration” as Evans reminded the 870 students that she and her fellow teachers were all their champions.
“The past 12 hours have been crazy, and this is just icing on the cake to be able to celebrate with you all because if it were not for this school and this group of children, then I wouldn’t be here,” Evans said. “I am honored, and I am so thankful that you’re all here today.
“It’s so cool but really overwhelming. I’m still trying to process, but go Chargers.”
Evans, 32, a teacher for 10 years, was chosen Thursday night out of Wake’s more than 10,000 teachers to be the district’s 2019-20 Teacher of the Year. It was a shared moment for Evans and Shejuanna Rodgers, principal of Apex Friendship Middle.
In 2009, Rodgers was an assistant principal at Apex Middle School when she hired Evans, an N.C. State University graduate. Rodgers said Evans has gotten even better from when she won the Wake school system Diane Kent-Parker First Year Teacher Award in 2010.
Evans, who grew up near the small western North Carolina town of Casar and went to school in Rutherford County, has made Wake County her home. She lives in Holly Springs with her husband and two young children.
When Apex Friendship Middle opened for this school year, Rodgers hired Evans to join the new school. Rodgers said that Evans embodies everything a teacher should be with a love for children.
“She is the most amazing teacher in that she puts her students first,” Rodgers said. “She’s always thinking about them, whether it’s planning or if it’s just the delivery of an awesome lesson. She strongly believes in building relationships, getting to know the kids.”
Alex Watson, one of Evans’ eighth-grade students, said he appreciates how she comes to school every day with a smile. Watson, 13, said Evans makes social studies, which can be boring to some students, seem interesting.
“You can tell that she cares about you and your well-being,” Watson said. “She has this kind of vibe around her that just makes you feel so happy and feel so great. I feel like that’s the best part of (being) a student of her is that you walk into the classroom and you can just instantly like, ‘Man it’s Ms. Evans class. I’m so excited.’”
Evans has spent her entire career working with middle school students, helping them to become “remarkable people that are unleashed into the world.” She said that she can’t imagine working with any other group of students.
“I think people often have this stigma around middle school teachers that we’re a little bit crazy because we teach middle school, but I embrace that crazy because they bring a unique energy to the classroom each day,” Evans said in an interview.
“They are going through so many emotional and social and physical changes that if I can help them be able to be aware of those feelings and be aware of their needs and help them figure that out here in our middle school environment, then when they move on they’re going to know how to control those and use those to their benefit.”
This story was originally published May 10, 2019 at 1:10 PM.
