The Vicksburg Warren School District held a reception to honor the recipients of the Teachers, Teacher Assistants, Parents, and Administrators of the Year for the 2022-2023 school year on Wednesday at the school district’s Central Office.

At the beginning of the ceremony, the president of the VWSD Board of Trustees, Kimble Slaton, spoke about his appreciation for all the work the award recipients have put into education in the community.

“We want to thank everybody, not just the people that have won awards, but everybody that teaches in this district,” Slaton said. “You all are the heartbeat of this place.”

Recipients were divided into the three categories of school, district, and state winners.

The people of the year from individual schools were nominated and voted on by their peers. District winners were chosen from that pool of school winners.

District winners were then eligible to win the statewide Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) awards. After the winners from each school were announced, district and state winners were recognized.

The district winners for the 2022-2023 school year are:

• District Teacher of the Year – Megan Carney, Bovina Elementary
• District Teacher Assistant of the Year – Alicia Carter, Warrenton Elementary
• District Administrator of the Year – Lakesha Batty
• District Parent of the Year – Kimberly Nailor

Nailor was also recognized for winning the statewide 2023 Mississippi Parent of the Year Award from MDE. She has two high school-age children in the district, and has contributed a large amount of time to a variety of volunteer activities for students in the community.

Near the end of the ceremony, Associate Superintendent for VWSD, Dr. Cedric Magee, expressed his gratitude to the recipients in his closing remarks.

“I really, truly believe that a child’s first teachers are their parents. So to the parents, I really thank you for going above and beyond … to support our schools, to support our students. So I thank you so much for what you do,” Magee said. “Our teachers, teacher assistants, principals, thank you for what you do. We can’t pay you enough for what you do, and parents as well. But what you do offer, you can’t put money on it: that you make a difference, you make a difference in the lives of children.”