Buchanan in Top Ten for AJC Celebrating Teachers Award

Jill Buchanan, Special Education Teacher at Dorsett Shoals Elementary School in Douglas County, was recently nominated by the parent of one of her students for the “Atlanta Journal Constitution Celebrating Teachers Award.”  Nominations for outstanding teachers who have made a difference in students’ lives were accepted from many different sources and included teachers at all grade levels and various types of schools.  Ms. Buchanan was selected as a top ten candidate out of 378 nominees.

Ms. Buchanan has taught for 24 years in Douglas County, starting as an interrelated special education teacher for eight years before transitioning to a self-contained contained classroom teaching students with moderate intellectual disabilities. She has been teaching at Dorsett Shoals Elementary for 22 years.

“Working with students with special needs is not only my chosen career, but it is also my calling,” said Ms. Buchanan. “I love working closely with my students’ families and seeing the progress each student makes in my classroom. It is an honor to work with my students each day and a blessing to be a part of their lives.”

“This is an amazing recognition for Ms. Buchanan, as she certainly deserves it,” said Dorsett Shoals Elementary Principal Cher Algarin. “I am so excited that she was nominated, but even more excited that she was nominated by one of our parents.”

Ms. Buchanan will be honored at a reception at the Cox Corporate Building in Dunwoody on October 25 and will be featured in a special print section of the AJC on October 29.