Wendy Turner, a second-grade teacher at Mount Pleasant Elementary School in the Brandywine School District, was named Delaware’s 2017 State Teacher of the Year.
Teaching was not Turner’s original plan. After starting her career working in a large public accounting firm, she found herself unfulfilled, she said in her application: “I just did not want to work in corporate America anymore . . . being a parent greatly changed my perspective and was a significant factor in influencing my deep desire to do something meaningful.”
She went back to school, taking night classes to earn her master’s degree in elementary education while continuing to work full time. At age 40, she became a teacher.
Turner’s selection as Delaware’s top educator makes her the 53rd Teacher of the Year since Delaware’s recognition program began.
