Broughton High School educator named Wake County Teacher of the Year

Betsy Graves, the dance director at Broughton High School in Raleigh, was named the Wake County school system’s 2017-18 Teacher of the Year at a ceremony on Monday.

Graves has taught at Broughton since 2013 after having been a student teacher at Panther Creek High School in Cary. In announcing the award, Superintendent Jim Merrill pointed to Graves’ involvement in the school, community and her profession.

“Although she has only been teaching four years, Betsy is an educator who inspires veteran teachers and administrators alike with her passion and commitment to her students,” Merrill said in a written statement.

Graves developed Broughton’s first Dance Boosters organization to build support for the dance program. She has applied for and received grants that have allowed her to bring in at least three nationally renowned guest artists and choreographers each year.

Graves has taken her dancers on multi-day field trips to train in studios in New York City and to perform at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. She also coordinates their performances at many local and regional competitions, including Raleigh’s SparkCon, the North Carolina Dance Festival and Meredith College’s Day of Dance.

She directs Broughton’s Queen of Hearts formal dance and leads the annual Powder Puff football game. Graves also coordinates the Broughton Food Pantry, which provides food, clothing and other items to more than 40 students and their families each week.

Graves and her dancers plan dance lessons for the students in Broughton’s self-contained special-needs classes. She also makes sure these students are included in the school’s annual Queen of Hearts and Homecoming performances.

“I have seen the hours Betsy gladly and willingly puts in to ensure that she can make everything that she is involved in meaningful for her students,” Margie Harrison, chairwoman of Broughton’s fine and performing arts department, said in a written statement. “Not an hour goes by that she is not thinking about how to organize the next event, raise the bar artistically for her advanced students, provide opportunities for growth for her younger students or engage our school community in a more spirited way.”

The 2012 Meredith College graduate also teaches free dance workshops to people dealing with trauma, children living in transition and teens who cannot afford private lessons. This past school year, she and her dancers provided free weekly dance classes to members of the Girls Club of Raleigh.

During the summer, Graves takes part in 30 to 50 hours a week of professional dance training in New York City, Los Angeles and the American Dance Festival in Durham.

Graves will receive a prize package that includes a $1,000 check. She will now compete in the state Teacher of the Year program.

This story was originally published May 8, 2017 at 8:34 PM with the headline "Broughton High School educator named Wake County Teacher of the Year."