Burke County chooses Table Rock educator as Teacher of the Year

Burke County Public Schools recognized Jonathon Morgan, an eighth-grade math teacher at Table Rock Middle School, as the district 2025-26 Teacher of the Year last week, presenting him with the award and a Ford Bronco, which he gets to drive for the next year.

At the end of the year, he can either take over payments and ownership, or the school absorbs the Bronco back into their fleet of district vehicles.

“Mr. Morgan represents the very best of Burke County Public Schools,” Superintendent Dr. Mike Swan said. “His commitment to student-centered learning, high expectations, and meaningful relationships is exactly what we strive for in every classroom. He is not only teaching math, but he is also building confident, independent learners who are prepared for whatever comes next.”

Morgan, a Morganton native who graduated from Patton High School and later Western Carolina University, taught at East Burke Middle School, starting in 2018, before shifting to Table Rock in 2023.

Morgan shared a word of advice for other teachers finding their footing in their first year: “Trust the process. If something works, stick to it. If it does not work, try again and reflect, ‘What could I have done better as an educator?’ That is a question that should be going through an educator’s mind every year, semester, nine weeks, almost daily.”

BCPS Public Relations Officer Cheryl Shuffler said Morgan will represent Burke County in the Northwest Regional Education Service Alliance.

Should Morgan go on to win the state Teacher of the Year award — a feat that hasn’t been accomplished by a BCPS teacher since Lisa Wall from Burke Middle College in 2017 — he will take a year-long sabbatical to travel the state, visiting other schools and advising the state board of education.

Morgan’s command of the classroom boils down to what he calls “reset(ting) their brains.”

“If we establish procedures, routines, and relationships at the very beginning of the school year, we will see students start to take that responsibility from the teacher and put it into their own hands,” he said. “That’s the goal of my classroom now, to have students take control of their learning.”

— JC