Berkeley County School District announces 2025 District Teacher of the Year

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – The Berkeley County School District announced Friday morning that the district’s 2025 Teacher of the Year comes from Berkeley High School.

Alex Wharton is a special services educator who has more than 33 years of experience. She was honored at the annual Teacher of the Year Breakfast for her work as a champion for her students and for incorporating district skills into her teaching.

After the announcement, Wharton took the stage to discuss educators’ impact on their students and the importance of building relationships with them.

“By continuing to build meaningful relationships, we give our students more than grades or guidance; we give them a foundation for healing and a launchpad for thriving,” she said. “Sometimes, what a student needs most isn’t a better test score or a new strategy. What they need is someone who becomes, even for a season, an umbilical cord – a life-giving connection that supplies them with what they may not yet produce on their own: motivation, encouragement, confidence, and hope.”

Wharton’s son, Berkeley High senior John Wharton, was in attendance to cheer on his mom.

Berkeley High Principal Heather Ducker also stepped up to say a few words about how lucky the school is to have Wharton.

“Mrs. Wharton loves all kids,” she said. “She leads through God and her heart. She teaches some of our most vulnerable students, and they just cling to her. I learn from her daily, our faculty learns from her daily, and we’re just really blessed to have her.”

The educators who won teacher of the year at their individual schools were also honored at breakfast.