Every May, the Cary Chamber of Commerce hosts an event celebrating 30 of the best teachers in Western Wake County. This year, Green Hope sent five finalists to the celebratory dinner at Prestonwood Country Club to await the announcement of the 2026 honorees: Mr. Sam Bernhard, Mr. Allen Botwick, Ms. Barb Magee, Mr. Jeff Moran and Mr. Greg O’Brien. Funds and donations from corporate sponsors of the event contribute to the monetary aspects of the awards, which are part of the Honor A Teacher and First Year Teacher programs.
The nominees for the award were anonymous, but selected teachers were required to submit an updated resume, a video representation of their teaching style – including the way they conduct their classes – and a one-pager on their teaching philosophy. Each school included in the event sent a few nominees, although only one teacher per school could receive the award. Along with the recognition came a trophy and a monetary prize, which winning teachers are encouraged to spend on non-educational expenses.
This year, Green Hope’s Honor A Teacher award winner was Ms. Magee, a long-time member of the Falcon science department who began teaching at Green Hope in 2005. Ms. Magee primarily teaches Advanced Placement Environmental Science, known to most students as APES, but has also taught other science courses like meteorology and earth science. Her students have consistently achieved above-average AP exam scores compared to county, state, national and international numbers, just one of her many accomplishments and contributions to Green Hope’s academic legacy.
Winners were determined anonymously this year, but according to Ms. Magee, the process used to involve a direct interview by a select committee, which has been replaced by the aforementioned video and other credentials. The Honor A Teacher initiative itself was pioneered in the 1990s by Ashworth Drugs, a historic Downtown Cary business that was recently closed, but the theme of local sponsorship has remained the funding source for the awards program.
This honor is an appropriate way to cap off Ms. Magee’s teaching career, as she plans to retire following the 2025-2026 school year. She has become an integral member of the Falcon staff and a great role model for incoming teachers in all departments, even creating her own course outline for Meteorology with help from her daughter. Ms. Magee shared that she will most miss all the time spent with her students, highlighting that being able to watch students grow and learn in her classes has been one of the most rewarding experiences of her life.
She also shared that her time at Green Hope was extremely well spent and that working at the school was one of her best decisions. “This is easily the best school where I’ve ever worked. I think it’s the science department, it’s amazing. We’re all friends outside of school, and that makes a big difference.” Furthermore, Ms. Magee noted that multiple members of the science department take on long commutes and pass multiple other schools just to be able to work at Green Hope. Her 21 years teaching at the school were spent reinventing the APES program with fellow soon-to-be-retired Falcon teacher Mr. Benjamin Rush and creating a supportive environment for hundreds of students.
Ms. Magee added some last words of advice for teachers, recommending that it’s always best to be authentic. “You can’t come in and be one person in a classroom, and then be someone else outside of the classroom. It’s okay to say ‘I don’t know the answer to that’ and to not freak out when a lesson goes wrong.” Her honesty and transparency towards her students and fellow staff members allowed her to become a well-loved teacher who is known by all as an incredibly important member of the Green Hope community. She will be missed after retiring, but celebrating with the Honor A Teacher award allows her to end her career on a high note.
