Penny Stanford, a third-grade teacher at U.S. Jones Elementary School, was named that school’s Teacher of the Year.

“Teachers submit nominees, and then a selection committee goes through those nominations,” said Dr. Tony Speegle, the principal at U.S. Jones. “They pick the Teacher of the Year from those nominations.”

Stanford is in her 18th year of teaching at the school. She was one of two U.S. Jones teacher to have hhhhearned the Hugh A. Lloyd Excellence in Education Award earlier this school year.

“I’m very surprised and honored,” she said, “but everybody here deserves it. Everybody works really hard.”

Stanford joins fellow Demopolis Teachers of the Year Dee Roark of Westside Elementary School and Derrick Hester of Demopolis Middle School. The Demopolis City Schools System will name a Demopolis Teacher of the Year from these as well as Demopolis High School?s Teacher of the Year, and that person will represent Demopolis as a candidate for Alabama Teacher of the Year.