CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – Earlier this week, WBTV hosts Alex Giles and Mary King surprised South Meck High School teacher Jerry Duncan by telling him he was the winner of the station’s Back to School Teacher Shopping Challenge contest, sponsored by WBTV and North Carolina Medicaid for More People.
The 12th grade English teacher has been teaching for 17 years, but those who know him say his impact on students reaches far beyond the classroom.
“He goes out and finds students who are looking for direction and helps give them purpose,” South Meck Principal Mark Ungerer said of Duncan.
Duncan received a check for $1,000, but the WBTV team quickly learned he was worth more than just the dollar amount.
He does this through a program called Rise2Impact, and has been doing so since 2012.
Through Rise2Impact, students volunteer in their communities and receive mentorship opportunities and experience in hopes of setting them on a path to success after high school. Duncan said 250 underprivileged youth have participated in the program so far.
“The credit is not mine,” he said. “I am but the wind beneath their wings.”
About 60 percent of the program’s participants go on to college or trade school, Duncan said, while the rest go straight into the workforce.
With support from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and Jordan Brand, Ungerer said the program continues to grow, and he’s confident his star teacher will take advantage of the resources he gained from the competition in the same way.
“What’s great about Jerry is he finds different ways to use that money to impact our students in unconventional ways that we wouldn’t necessarily have thought of,” the principal said, “so if we can get some additional funding to help our students in any way in and outside of the classroom, that would be a great help to them and a great help to him.”
Duncan said Jordan Brand allows one student from the program to attend college for free each year.
His wife recommended him for the contest.
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