Kaylah Kaha may have said it best Tuesday at a gathering of 450 educators for the Cumberland County Schools’ Premier Professionals of the Year Gala.
“We are here tonight,” the South View High School senior said, “because of you.”
The gala honored nine 2025 Principal of the Year finalists, nine Assistant Principal of the Year finalists, 10 Teacher of the Year finalists and the seven Beginning Teacher of the Year finalists at the Richard M. Wiggins Convention Center.
“I want to thank God, my mother and my sister,” Shanessa Fenner, 52, said moments after receiving the Principal of the Year honor. “I’ve been in education 30 years. Educating our babies and being a principal has been so fulfilling for me. I love education, and we are ‘Cumberland County Strong.’”
Fenner is principal at W.T. Brown Elementary School in Spring Lake, and follows her sister, Erica Fenner-McAdoo as the school system’s top principal. Fenner-McAdoo, principal at Howard Hall Elementary School, was the Principal of the Year in 2024.
A 1989 graduate of Seventy-First High School, Fenner earned her bachelor’s in elementary education in 1994 from N.C. Central University, her master’s degree in education in 1998 from Fayetteville State University, her master’s degree is school administration in 2002 from FSU, and her doctorate in educational leadership in 2010 from FSU.
“Let me hug my sister,” Fenner-McAdoo said after the ceremony.
Jernise Flood Rucker of Westarea Elementary School was selected as Assistant Principal of the Year, Alianna Sigler of Elizabeth Cashwell Elementary School as Teacher of the Year and Haleigh Baker of Cumberland International Early College High School as Beginning Teacher of the Year.
“I was really surprised,” Rucker, 38, said.
Rucker earned her undergraduate degree in birth-kindergarten education in 2008 from Fayetteville State University, her master’s in reading education K-12 in 2012 from FSU and a master’s in school administration in 2018 from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Rucker currently is working on her doctorate in educational leadership at FSU.
Sigler welcomed her Teacher of the Year award, but the 31-year-old special education teacher said now is no time to rest on the honor.
“I’m very honored and excited,” Sigler told the audience, “but I want to keep that fire burning every day.”
Sigler is known for her teaching style of building “strong partnerships with the parents of her students,” according to a school system press release.
“I am an important stakeholder in the wellbeing of the students I teach,” Sigler says. “I am not only an advocate for them, but also a partner and an advocate for their parents.”
A native of Centerville, Maryland, Sigler earned her undergraduate degree in 2015 from Salisbury University and her master’s in special education in 2022 from East Carolina University.
Beginning Teacher of the Year Baker is passionate about innovative classroom practices, a school system press release says. She works to incorporate music, art and movement in her teaching, “creating a supportive learning environment for her students.”
“What a journey it’s been for me,” Baker, 23, said. “I’m so grateful and thankful for the opportunity. I can’t wait for what this year has in store for me.”
Baker graduated from Rolesville High School in Wake County and earned her bachelor’s in mathematics with a concentration in secondary mathematics education from UNC-Pembroke in 2023.
‘The potential in every child’
Cumberland County Schools Superintendent Marvin Connelly Jr. reminded the audience of the significance of the evening on the eve of the school system announcing in a news release that 17 county schools have been removed from the state’s low-performing schools list.
The schools, according to the school system, are Elizabeth Cashwell Elementary, College Lakes Elementary, C. Wayne Collier Elementary, J.W. Coon Elementary, Lucile Sounders Elementary, Margaret Willis Elementary, Montclair Elementary, William H. Owen Elementary, Benjamin J. Martin Elementary, Sunnyside Elementary, W.T. Brown Elementary, Douglas Byrd Middle, Anne Chestnutt Middle, Luther “Nick” Jeralds Middle, Lewis Chapel Middle, Mac Williams Middle and South View Middle.
“I’m filled with a deep sense of pride and gratitude, because I know our district has the best to offer,” the 61-year-old superintendent said. “I’m reminded of the profound effect education can have on our students. You are the ones who see the potential in every child … Tonight, we’re recognizing extraordinary individuals. They don’t just meet expectations, they exceed them.”
Deanna Jones, the school board chairperson, endorsed the superintendent’s words.
“This is about creating an environment where every child can thrive,” Jones said about the school system with just shy of 50,000 students, according to Associate Superintendent Lindsay Whitley, in the 2024-2025 academic year. “To all of tonight’s finalists, you inspire our students.”
Epilogue
Linda Bowser was a proud former educator and mother as Shanessa Fenner was congratulated by fellow principals and teachers.
“I’m really proud of them,” Bowser, 78, a former teacher and social worker in the school system, said of her daughters, who now are Principals of the Year in consecutive years. “Yes, now I have bookends.”
By evening’s end, all of us were reminded of how this awards gala began.
“We are here tonight,” Kaylah Kaha, the South View High School senior, told us, “because of you.”
2025 Principal of the Year Finalists
- Corine Warren, Benjamin Martin Elementary School
- Lisa Gillespie, Mary McArthur Elementary School
- Antoine McGill, J.W. Seabrook Elementary School
- Shanessa Fenner, W.T. Brown Elementary School
- Shannon Booth, Sherwood Park Elementary School
- Natasha Brown, Westover Middle School
- Regina Blanding, Hope Mills Middle School
- Douglas Massengill, Massey Hill Classical High School
- Larry Parker Jr., E.E. Smith High School
2025 Assistant Principal of the Year Finalists
- Constance Thomas, William H. Owen Elementary School
- Hope Littlejohn, Ed V. Baldwin Elementary School
- Latonica McDonald, Walker-Spivey Elementary School
- Jernise Flood Rucker, Westarea Elementary School
- Teresa Rubio, Cumberland Academy K-5 Virtual School
- Eddie Ford IV, South View Middle School
- Elan Goodman-Robinson, Westover Middle School
- Pierre Cobb, Pine Forest High School
- Jessica Black, E.E. Smith High School
For Q&As about each Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year finalist, read the magazine feature from CityView’s August “Back to School” edition.
2025 Teacher of the Year Finalists
- Shannon Edwards, Cape Fear High School
- Matthew Grant, Montclair Elementary School
- Tyera Avery, Margaret Willis Elementary School
- Janet Knotts, Alderman Road Elementary School
- Brittany Savoy, John Griffin Middle School
- Sara Coursey, Long Hill Elementary School
- Carol Erepol, Seventy-First Classical Middle School
- Alianna Sigler, Elizabeth Cashwell Elementary School
- Charlon Long, Cumberland Academy 6-12 Virtual School
- Shelly Atkinson, Ponderosa Elementary School
2025 Beginning Teacher of the Year Finalists
- Danielle Ongie, Manchester Elementary School
- Tiffany Quick, Brentwood Elementary School
- Marquita Bowen, Margaret Willis Elementary School
- Johnathon Pitts, Seventy-First Classical Middle School
- Cori Kegel, John Griffin Middle School
- Kacy Gunter, Pine Forest High School
- Haleigh Baker, Cumberland International Early College High School
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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