RALEIGH, (SGRToday.com) - She beat out eight colleagues and now Keana Triplett, an Ashe County high school teacher, is the official North Carolina Teacher of the Year. She succeeds James Ford of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg system.

Triplett is an English teacher.

"Keana wants to be the catalyst for her students' success in life. By getting to know her students individually, she is able to meet them where they are and lead them to where they want to go," said Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson in a news release.

State Board of Education Chairman Bill Cobey also congratulated Triplett on her selection saying, "Great teachers can inspire our youth to pursue one of the most noble professions in the world: teaching. This was the case with Keana. I'm confident that she will inspire others to follow in her footsteps."

Triplett has spent her entire teaching career at Ashe County High School. Since 2005, she has taught 9th, 10th and 12th grade English. She is chair of Ashe County High School's Writing Committee and a member of the school's Literacy Committee. She also is a Senior Conference Presenter for the Appalachian Community of Educators Society, a Teaching Fellows Advisory Council member for Appalachian Educators and a Cooperating Teacher for Appalachian State University student teachers.