Under blue ballroom lights, educators in bright dresses and dark suits cheered Tuesday as Cumberland County Schools named four of its top professionals for 2027. Around them, tables set with royal-blue napkins and bright floral centerpieces framed an evening of hugs, photographs, and applause for work that usually unfolds inside classrooms, hallways, and school offices.
Charles Houston of New Century International Middle School was named Beginning Teacher of the Year, and Janice Swoope of Reid Ross Classical School was named Teacher of the Year. Pierre Cobb of Pine Forest High School was named Assistant Principal of the Year, while Marcus Stewart of Sunnyside Elementary School was named Principal of the Year.
The awards were presented during CCS’ Premier Professionals Gala in the Crown Ballroom at the Crown Complex.
The gala’s theme was “Achieving CCS Excellence: Striving to Be the Best. Succeeding Together.” Superintendent Eric Bracy connected the celebration to the district’s new strategic plan, which includes recruiting, supporting, and retaining teachers, support staff, and school leaders among its four priorities.
“Tonight’s finalists have earned this recognition through their skill, service, and unwavering belief in all of the students they serve,” Bracy said. “You’re not simply delivering lessons or leading schools. You’re shaping lives, strengthening families, and building the future of our amazing community.”
Jacquelyn Brown, vice chair of the Cumberland County Board of Education, said the district’s employees are responsible for turning its goals into results.
“Tonight gives us an opportunity to say something that cannot be said often enough: Your work matters. Your leadership matters,” Brown said. “And the commitment that you bring to Cumberland County Schools makes a lasting difference in the lives of the students and families we are honored to serve.”
“Our strategic plan gives Cumberland County Schools a shared path forward, but it is our people who will turn that plan into progress,” Brown added.
Charles Houston: Beginning Teacher of the Year
For Houston, the Beginning Teacher of the Year recognition carried him further into a family legacy of education.
The seventh-grade social studies teacher at New Century International Middle School served 18 years in the U.S. Army. Although he remains grateful for the honors he received during his military career, Houston told the crowd that this award “means so much more.”
Houston’s mother, Dorothy Maggie Houston, is an educator entering her 60th year in the classroom. Both she and Houston’s grandmother graduated from Howard University, while he attended Morehouse College. He thanked the two women for establishing the legacy he is now continuing.
Houston said working on lesson plans during his first year in the classroom also created unexpected time for him to connect with his mother.
“I have to give the greatest thanks to her because last year, as I was doing my lesson plans, it was a bonding experience that I didn’t know I needed,” Houston said. “My father passed away 10 years ago, so Mom and I had each other.”
In his classroom, Houston calls his students jali, a word meaning storyteller. His student-led civic model allows seventh graders to campaign, debate, hold elections, and work together to address classroom concerns.
“They are not just learning history—they are becoming ethical storytellers who understand the responsibility of telling stories with truth and purpose,” Houston said in remarks shared by the district. “We don’t just study civics—we live it.”
Houston closed his acceptance speech with a promise.
“Cumberland County Schools, you have awakened a sleeping giant,” he said.
Janice Swoope: Teacher of the Year
A guidance counselor once told Swoope she was not going to become a teacher. Her mother gave her a different answer.
“You will be a teacher because you can do it,” Swoope recalled Tuesday. “Here I am, 51 years later.”
Swoope has spent more than five decades in education, including 43 years with Cumberland County Schools. She has taught orchestra, chorus, and general music and helped establish the Cumberland County Middle School Orchestra.
Her orchestras earned superior ratings at state competition for 34 consecutive years, from 1992 through 2024, and she was named the 2024 Eastern Regional Orchestra Director of the Year.
Her Teacher of the Year platform, “Connect B4 Curriculum,” centers on the belief that students need meaningful relationships and a sense of belonging before they can thrive academically.
“Teaching is about connection, not just information,” Swoope said in remarks shared by the district. “When we connect before curriculum, we can create schools where students do not simply survive, but thrive.”
After accepting the award, Swoope returned to the person who first believed she could become an educator: her mother.
“I love what I do. I truly love what I do,” Swoope said. “I thank my mother, who has been gone for several years now, but she believed in me.”
Swoope said she would use the year ahead to represent the district and tell others about “the wonderful things that are going on in this county.”
Pierre Cobb: Assistant Principal of the Year
Cobb first arrived at Pine Forest High School as a math teacher. Eleven years into his education career—including five in administration—he now helps lead the school where he began.
His work has focused on turning academic data into changes teachers can use. Cobb redesigned professional learning community meetings, paired reviews of individual test items with teacher coaching, and helped Pine Forest raise its Biology proficiency rate by more than 20 percentage points, according to the district.
He also created Trojan Block, placing time for ACT preparation, end-of-course remediation, and targeted academic support into the school’s weekly schedule.
During his acceptance speech, Cobb drew on another part of his life. He told the audience he has preached for 18 years—longer than he has worked in education—and recalled a message he once delivered called “The Outcast That Overcame.”
“I want every assistant principal in this room to remember: There are days when you will feel like the outcast in the building,” Cobb said. “But remember, there is a student who knows that you made an impact in their life.”
“There is a teacher who knows you supported them at their darkest moment, and there is a parent who remembers how you supported their child,” he added.
Marcus Stewart: Principal of the Year
Stewart has served as Sunnyside Elementary School’s principal since 2023. His 19 years in education include work as a social studies teacher, assistant principal, and athletic director.
Under Stewart’s leadership, Sunnyside moved from a D to a C school performance grade and exited the state’s low-performing, continually low-performing, and Targeted Support and Improvement designations. The school also reached 10-year highs in reading, math, and science, according to the district.
Stewart reworked the school’s discipline process, helping reduce office referrals by 25%, while grade-level proficiency increased by 4 percentage points.
For Stewart, each program, resource, and school decision must ultimately serve what happens between teachers and students.
“Programs matter. Resources matter. But great instruction is what is going to change the lives of our students,” Stewart said. “Every decision I make comes back to one question: What’s best for kids?”
