Staff Report 
Merriwether Librarian Named Teacher Of The Year
Kristen Taylor, librarian at Merriwether Middle School, has been named the Edgefield County School District’s Teacher Of The Year for 2025-26.
The announcement was made Friday morning, September 12 during the school district’s annual “Morning For Stars” breakfast celebration, held at Pine Ridge Club. The event is staged to honor the district’s individual school-level Teachers Of The Year in addition to Support Staff Of The Year.
Former Johnston-Edgefield-Trenton Middle School paraprofessional Jillian Mosuch was named as the district’s 2025-26 Support Staff Of The Year. Ms. Taylor, and Ms. Mosuch and their fellow school-level honorees were celebrated in a release published by the school district Friday evening on its website and social media platforms.
Also during the celebration, school district bus driver Debra Williams was honored as the 2025-26 Bus Driver of the Year, while recent school district retiree Lunette Patten, who served for many years as secretary for the School Board of Trustees, was recognized as Support Staff of the Year for the District Office.
“We consider you as part of our extended family and we are so thankful for each and every one of you,” Edgefield County Board of Trustees Chair Blair Massey was quoted as saying to all the gathered honorees. “Thank you so much for all you do.”
Ms. Taylor had been named as one of three finalists for districtwide Teacher Of The Year alongside Merriwether Elementary School art teacher Michael Keltz and Strom Thurmond Career and Technology Center business teacher Derrick Williams.
Photos Courtesy Of The Edgefield County School District
The school district release stated that Ms. Taylor had been inspired to become a teacher “after seeing how her younger brother’s middle school experience shaped him. That moment gave her a heart for supporting students during these critical years.”
At the Merriwether Middle School library, she created such programs as Battle of the Books and Book Speed Dating, which the district said helped students discover a joy of reading, often for the very first time. “She believes in the power of small, steady actions that build trust and confidence in students. Her work has fostered a culture where every child feels seen and valued through books and relationships,” the district announcement stated.
“I am completely shocked and grateful,” Ms. Taylor said after her top honor was revealed. “This is such a special place to work. Edgefield County is unlike any other school district I’ve been to, and being a part of something special like this really does feel like family and it makes me really grateful for the people I work with.”
She added that “any of the teachers in the room today would have been just as deserving of this honor, and I’m just grateful and humbled they believed in me enough to feel like I could represent our school district well.”
Support Honoree Credits Her Role As ECSD Parent
As the 2025-26 Support Staff Of The Year, Ms. Mosuch was described by a colleague has having “a genuine concern for the future of our students and works to consistently support our students so our young people have the opportunity to learn and grow daily and to pursue their dreams. Her willingness to help whenever and wherever necessary is inspiring and she has earned the admiration of her colleagues.”
Ms. Mosuch recently segued into a new role at J-E-T Middle School as a sixth-grade math teacher, according to the release.
“It’s been such an honor to work here,” Ms. Mosuch was quoted as saying, adding that the district “has done a lot for us as a family and for our son as well at Douglas Elementary School. That is really what drew me here, the support we’ve received having an (Office of Exceptional Children) child in this school district. Being able to be a part of this team, with OEC for so many years, now being Support Staff of the Year and being able to now educate students as part of the teaching staff, it has been an honor.”
Other school-level Teacher Of The Year and Support Staff Of The Year honorees recognized during the “Morning For Stars” were:
- Douglas Elementary Schoool – Anna Young (teacher) and Damien Bowman (support staff);
- Johnston Elementary School – April Arthur (teacher} and Elizabeth Hill (support staff);
- Merriwether Elementary School – Mike Keltz (teacher) and Gloria Robinson (support staff);
- W.E. Parker Elementary School – Andrew Barwick (teacher) and Tracy Grandy (support staff);
- J-E-T Middle School – Kelly Mcilvried-Gettys (teacher);
- Merriwether Middle School – John Oliphant (support staff);
- Strom Thurmond High School – Jasmine East (teacher) and Angela Garrett (support staff; and
- Strom Thurmond Career and Technology Center – Derrick Williams (teacher) and Diane Johnson (support staff).
Love Of Reading Is Fundamental To Top Teacher
“Ms. Taylor is a passionate advocate for literacy and learning, whose creative spirit and unwavering commitment have transformed our media center into a vibrant hub of discovery and growth,” said Merriwether Middle School Principal Mindy Clark in the school district announcement. “Her collaborative nature, boundless enthusiasm, and nurturing heart have empowered both students and staff to explore new ideas and embrace a love of reading. She is an irreplaceable asset to Merriwether Middle School.”
Helping students discover a love of reading and celebrating “the whole child” are two of Ms. Taylor’s passions, according to the district release.
“I want every student who thinks they hate reading to know that they really don’t hate reading, we just have to find the right book to make them love it. I think the students at Merriwether Middle School are evidence of that because we’ve seen a lot of growth in that area,” she said in the announcement. “My other passion is to recognize the whole child and love the whole child and have every student who walks through the doors of our building to know they are seen, they are known by name, and they are cared about. When they leave our school, they will have learned a lot of things from us, but I want them to be able to look back on Merriwether Middle School and say, ‘I know I was loved there’ and that’s the most important thing for me.”
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