Round Rock ISD: Charlotte Young Named Berkman Elementary Teacher Of The Year

ROUND ROCK, TX -- Charlotte Young has been named Berkman Elementary Teacher of the Year, school district officials said.

An educator for five years, Young has spent three of those years at Berkman where she teaches fourth grade. The 2017 Teacher of the Year honor is the culmination of a lifelong admiration for the teaching profession, she told the district during a profile interview.

"My belief is that every child can learn more and more importantly wants to learn," she said. "Education should serve the personal purposes of each student. As an educator, I have the ability to reach each child if I am in tune with his or her personal interests and needs."

Young is particularly aware of the tailored needs each child requires given her own background. As a child, she frequently moved schools yet was fortunate enough to be met with caring teachers at every stop along the way, she said.

That passion she witnessed as a child from her various teachers unconsciously inspired her to become an educator herself: "I love what I do and where I do it,” she said. “I feel like I matter every single day – on weekdays to my students and everyday to my own kids, for whom I am their first teacher. I feel like I make a difference in their lives and consequently in the world.”

Berkman Principal Kathy Cawthron cited Young's leadership qualities and a mission to continually improve her skills as reasons for her being bestowed the prestigious honor.

“Charlotte Young is one of the most dedicated and hard-working teachers at Berkman,” Cawthron proclaimed. “She is very intentional with every minute of the school day and is focused on developing the whole child. She goes above and beyond to get them to grow and see their own potential.”