Durham teacher wins NCCAT 2025 NC CTE Teacher of the Year award

The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) has announced Tyler D’Angelo, an agriculture teacher at CE Jordan High School in Durham Public Schools, as the NCCAT 2025 Burroughs Wellcome Fund NC Career & Technical Education (CTE) Teacher of the Year. The award was presented during a ceremony at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center on Western Carolina University's campus on February 20th.

This award, now in its third year, recognizes outstanding CTE educators who excel in their profession. Finalists from across North Carolina participated in a week of professional development at NCCAT before the event.

D’Angelo's efforts have led students to exceed state benchmarks, earn industry-recognized credentials, and gain valuable work-based learning experiences. A colleague described him as embodying "the qualities of an outstanding educator: dedication, innovation, and a relentless pursuit of excellence." A student expressed confidence that D’Angelo will continue to strengthen their program and shared plans to pursue a degree in Agroecology inspired by his teaching.

Dr. M. Brock Womble, NCCAT Executive Director, highlighted the importance of CTE educators: "At NCCAT, we are honored to celebrate and support the exceptional Career and Technical Education teachers who inspire and prepare the next generation of North Carolina’s workforce."

Alisha Pierri, a Culinary Arts and Hospitality teacher at Brunswick County Schools' Center of Applied Science and Technology, was named runner-up for the award.

Finalists included educators from various schools across North Carolina. Awards provided by the Development Foundation of NCCAT include cash prizes, instructional supply funds, memberships in NCACTE, and participation in national conferences.

NCCAT extends gratitude to sponsors such as Burroughs Wellcome Fund and others for supporting this program.

For more information about NCCAT’s programs, visit www.nccat.org or call 828-293-5202.

Information from this article can be found here.