24-04-2025
Lexington County teacher wins SC Teacher of the Year award
Corey Bedenbaugh, a Lexington County social studies teacher, speaks during the annual Teacher of the Year award ceremony on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Screenshot of SC Department of Education livestream)
COLUMBIA — A Lexington County social studies teacher is South Carolina's Teacher of the Year.
Corey Bedenbaugh, who teaches eighth grade at Batesburg-Leesville Middle School, was selected from a group of five finalists to receive a grand prize of $25,000, state Superintendent Ellen Weaver announced Thursday during a ceremony at the Governor's Mansion.
Teacher of the Year finalists
Terri Ivester, Anderson School District 3
Jennifer Nelson, Hampton County School District
Corey Bedenbaugh, Lexington County School District 3
Miranda Grice, Lexington County School District 4
Taylor Carvajal, SC School for the Deaf and the Blind
Source: S.C. Department of Education
In an acceptance speech, Bedenbaugh thanked his colleagues and the students he teaches, saying they impart as much wisdom to him as he does to them.
'To every student out there, you are the reason we do this,' Bedenbaugh said. 'Your dreams, your resilience and your light fuel our purpose.'
Bedenbaugh initially wanted to become a lawyer, but the prelaw classes he took during his first year at Newberry College didn't inspire him, he said. At the urging of his college advisor, Bedenbaugh enrolled in education classes with the aim of becoming a history teacher.
Those classes 'allowed me to see the true impact (my teachers) had left in me, an impact that I had not really seen prior to thinking about it,' Bedenbaugh said.
Along with teaching, Bedenbaugh founded 'Bow Ties with Bedenbaugh,' a mentorship program meant to teach young men life skills. He also coaches a girls' basketball team and sponsors the school's student council and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, according to the state Department of Education.
'Corey Bedenbaugh is an outstanding educator who goes above and beyond to inspire his students every day,' his district superintendent, Ashley Atkinson, said in a statement.
Each school district in the state selects its own teacher of the year, which the Department of Education narrows down to five finalists. Each receives $10,000.
On top of an additional $15,000 from the state, Bedenbaugh received $2,000 from the Bojangles Foundation Fund, a BMW to drive for the coming year and the ability to take classes tuition-free toward a graduate degree from the University of South Carolina.
'This award is an honor and acknowledgement, but the real reward is the privilege of teaching,' said Bedenbaugh, who already holds a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Phoenix.
The award also comes with extra responsibility. Bedenbaugh will spend the next year mentoring other teachers, working with high-achieving high school students who want to join the profession and leading an annual conference for educators.
While the award goes to one teacher, it's meant to highlight the work of educators as a whole in helping the next generation of students grow, Weaver said.
'We're honoring all of those whose lasting influence stays long after classroom lights go out, those who are writing South Carolina's next chapter, one student, one lesson plan, one incredible breakthrough at a time,' Weaver said.
Legislators in recent years have taken steps toward hiking teachers' pay and improving their working conditions.
Since 2017, the state-funded minimum salary for first-year teachers has risen from $30,100 to $47,000, with legislators set to provide an additional $1,500 boost for the coming school year. That will bring the minimum pay for a teacher with 12 years of experience and a master's degree — what's loosely considered an average — to $58,750.
Gov. Henry McMaster noted that more funding has also provided more mental health professionals and law enforcement officers in schools.
All of that has been to help the state's teachers, said the governor, who fondly recalled the teachers who have shaped his own life.
'Ladies and gentlemen, if someone doesn't teach it to you, you're not going to know it,' McMaster said.
Bedenbaugh called on everyone in the audience to continue supporting educators.
'Together, let's continue to champion the power of education, because when we invest in our children, we invest in the future of our great state,' Bedenbaugh said.
