Four Bladen County educators have been chosen as STAR Teachers for the 2001-2002 school year.

Chosen for the honor by selected students, the four are: Teresa Coleman of the Bladenboro campus of West Bladen High; Susan Inman of the Tar Heel campus of West Bladen; Marsha Burney of East Bladen; and Clemouth Brown of the School of Extended Hope.

All four were honored at the June meeting of the Bladen County Board of Education.

The STAR Teacher program is sponsored by Time Warner Cable and is designed to honor teachers who have made a positive impact on the lives of their students. The unique aspect of the program is that students nominate the teachers.

Outstanding student leaders were selected from each of the high school campuses in the county, and they in turn selected the one teacher they felt had the most influence on their academic career. The selected teacher could be from any grade (first through high school), active or retired. The only requirement was that the teacher be from Bladen County Schools and still live in the area.

The students chosen to participate in the program this year were: Jenna Bridger of the Bladenboro campus of West Bladen; Lindsay Dunham of the Tar Heel campus of West Bladen; Melody Guyton of East Bladen; and Brandon Thomas of the School of Extended Hope. Each student was chosen because they were seniors with outstanding records.

Each of the students introduced to the school board meeting the teacher they had chosen to receive the STAR award, and made comments about the teacher. Bridger chose Coleman; Dunham chose Inman; Guyton chose Burney; and Thomas chose Brown.

Each of the students presented their chosen teacher with a plaque donated by Time Warner.

Pat Smith, general manager of Time Warner operations in Bladen, said "It is a pleasure for Time Warner Cable to be able to honor these dedicated and devoted educators and at the same time honor some of the outstanding students in Bladen County. Time Warner Cable is committed to education and this is just a small way for us to show our appreciation to the dedicated teachers in the classroom who work to educate our children."