Arbor Station's Cook Named Douglas County Teacher Of The Year

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — Lauren Cook, an English and language arts teacher at the elementary school she herself attended, is Douglas County's 2017-18 Teacher of the Year.

Cook received the honor Thursday evening at a ceremony honoring the Teachers of the Year from each of the county's 34 public schools.

Cook has been teaching for 19 years. She started in Colorado and, after moving back to Douglas County, began working for the system in 2006 as a half-time reading teacher at Eastside Elementary. She returned to full-time teaching in 2007 and, in 2013, transferred to Arbor Station Elementary, where she currently teaches fourth-grade English and language arts.

She earned her undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of West Georgia and a master's degree from the University of Colorado. In 2009, she added a reading endorsement to her teaching certificate.

A product of Douglas County schools, Cook attended Arbor Station, Chapel Hill Middle School and Douglas County High School.

In 2009, she was named Eastside's Teacher of the Year.

"I am blessed to be in the position to teach, love and impact such a diverse and talented group of students," Cook said in her biography on the Arbor Station website. "I love my job."

Also Thursday evening, Jeremy Anderson, from Chapel Hill High School, was named the system's High School Teacher of the Year and Roxanne Purcell, from Turner Middle School, was named Middle School Teacher of the Year.

Photo courtesy Douglas County Public Schools