JOSHUA HUNTER
Moore Square AIG/GT Basics Magnet Middle School
Wake County Public School System
Raleigh, North Carolina
Teacher of the Year award winner Joshua Hunter is passionate about teaching and credits his family as integral to his path in life.
Hunter’s mother (a retired Kindergarten educator) and grandmother (a retired Special Education educator and Principal) were his catalysts for becoming a teacher. He knew what he wanted to be a teacher as soon as he stepped foot into his mom’s classroom, referring to her as “Mrs. Hunter” instead of “Mom.” At age five, he would recreate her classroom in his bedroom and held imaginary class every day using
discarded reading textbooks.
The key to achieving classroom equity and diversity is relationships, according to Hunter. The classroom
is a sanctuary in which ALL his students should feel safe and comfortable and have a voice in their learning.
Hunter considers his greatest educational accomplishment to be making a positive difference in the lives of all of his students. And as he says, “Making a positive difference in the lives of our students and to empower them to
make a positive difference in the world is the most important educational accomplishment any Magnet teacher can make!”
