Dr. Kelly Clark, an English teacher at Clover High School, has been named the 2023 Clover School District (CSD) Teacher of the Year.

Dr. Clark's selection was announced this morning during the district's annual Convocation, which welcomes staff back for the new school year. She was selected through an application and interview process that was carried out last spring.

As the district Teacher of the Year, Dr. Clark will receive the use of an automobile from Fred Caldwell Chevrolet during the following year.

In her application, Dr. Clark cited her family's role in her decision to become an educator. "My family was my biggest influence," she wrote. "My grandmother taught in a one-room schoolhouse, my father was my elementary school principal, and my mother was an elementary school teacher. I grew up in a school, and I never imagined another career path."

Dr. Clark started her career in 1997 and has been an instructor at five different public middle or high schools in North and South Carolina. Additionally, she served as an assistant principal for two years. Dr. Clark also was on the faculty at Gardner-Webb University, serving as the Director of Innovative Undergraduate Curriculum, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Chair of Middle Grades Education, and Assistant Professor in the School of Education.

She holds a bachelor of science degree in English Education from East Carolina University, a master of science degree in Educational Leadership from Gardner-Webb University, and a doctorate degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Gardner-Webb.