Life is Good spotlight on Zachariah Lowe, Sumter 2017-18 teacher of the year
In his five years of teaching, all of which have been in the Sumter School District, Zachariah Lowe has raked in accolades, awards and professional development opportunities, emerging as a leader not just in Sumter’s public education sphere but in the community as a whole.
Lowe was named the 2017-18 District Teacher of the Year as a sixth- and seventh-grade social studies teacher at the former Mayewood Middle School and went on to become a top-five finalist for the State Teacher of the Year. He is also a 2018-19 South Carolina Honor Roll Teacher.
“In not many jobs do you get to go in and really put your mark on something much greater than yourself and your community.”
Garnering his passion for teaching from his high school band director in Ohio, his drive is to make a mark on the future generation of leaders. In addition to, at only 26, boasting a Master’s degree in Education Administration and touting a litany of professional development courses, programs and conferences, he has led his students – now eighth-graders at the R.E. Davis College Preparatory Academy – to numerous local and national awards for their own educational projects.
Lowe was named one of The Sumter Item’s 2018-19 Top 20 Professionals Under 40 last fall, is a member of the Sumter Teacher Forum, which organized and hosted a public debate for candidates running for school board last November, and somehow finds time to tutor at John K. Crosswell Home for Children.
“If you think about the, what, 200 kids I’ve taught so far, and how many people they can go on to influence.”