Teacher of the Year

Emily Pasquarella is Chatham Charter’s 2025-2026 Teacher of the Year. She recently took some time to share some insight into her career and passion for education.

How many years have you been a teacher?

I have been teaching since 2007. I began with 9 years in kindergarten, moved to 2nd grade, followed by teaching 4th grade in Chatham County as well as at Chatham Charter. I initially taught at a charter school in Mooresville, NC (near Charlotte) and moved back home to Siler City. I have taught all subjects, but my love is definitely reading. I was not always an educator. I initially graduated from East Carolina with a Business Marketing degree. After 7 years of working in the field, I felt my heart and my calling was to teach. I joined the graduate school program at UNC Charlotte and earned my Master’s in Elementary Education. It was certainly the path I was meant to be on. 

What are your favorite topics to teach? 

One of my favorite topics or units to teach is character traits and point of view while reading the novel Wonder by R.J. Palacio. It always provides perspectives and realizations the students might not have anticipated uncovering, both with the characters and themselves. It allows them time to connect real life experiences and empathy towards others. Not only do I get to teach the English Language Arts (ELA)/Reading portion of the book, but it truly allows the delivery of so many rich and deep life lessons for students (and their teacher). Conversation and excitement always build around the characters, along with opinions, reactions and stances taken towards certain characters. 

What do you hope your students remember about you 10 or 20 years from now?

In years to come, I hope my students remember several things. I hope they learned to believe in themselves, learned kindness and how to be a positive and contributing member of their family, school and community. One of the greatest rewards for me as an educator is not just the academics and growth, but students that come back year after year for hugs, chats or support. I want them to know they are supported, cared for and remembered. As it says in the book Wonder, “I believe everyone should be remembered for something.” I hope my students are remembered for the impact they have on the world because they learned, were challenged, grew and were cared for during their time in our classroom.