Tanner kindergarten teacher Ruth Edge and Elkmont High School social studies teacher Joey Thompson have been named elementary and secondary teachers of the year for Limestone County.

School board members recognized the two during the regular school board meeting Monday.

“It was a tremendous honor to be selected to represent Tanner as the elementary teacher of the year,” Edge said Tuesday. “I was completely surprised to be recognized as the Limestone County Schools District teacher of the year. I love my job. I get a chance everyday to make a difference in the lives of my students. In May, I watched my first kindergarten class graduate from Tanner High School. I remember them when they were 5 and were scared to walk into school and let their moms and dads go. Watching them proudly receive their diplomas was probably one of the greatest moments in my teaching career.”

A Tanner High School graduate, Edge earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood and elementary education from Athens State College and an associate’s degree in general education from Calhoun Community College.

She has 13 years of experience teaching at Tanner, including one year of math and 12 years of kindergarten. Before coming to Tanner, she taught 4-year-olds in a private preschool program in Decatur. She has been recognized as a Renaissance Model Educator from 2001-2007 and as Tanner Elementary School Teacher of the Year in 2008-2009.

Elkmont teacher Joey Thompson has taught regular and advanced 10th-grade social studies, economics and government. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University in 1972 and a master’s degree in education from Alabama A&M University in 1999.