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Southside High School graduate and current head boys basketball and track coach Davelle Whitney also excels in the classroom.

Beaufort County Schools named him the 2022-2023 Career and Technical Education Teacher of the Year for his outstanding work with students in his business and career development classes.

Whitney, a Chocowinity native, was part of the first class to spend all four years at Southside after the school opened in 2000.

He was part of the 2002 state runner up football team and went on to play four years at North Carolina Wesleyan and earned his degree in computer information systems and is completing his 11^th year as a teacher.

“It’s a great honor and I guess it shows I’m doing something right in the classroom,” Whitney said. “It’s always uplifting to be recognized and I enjoy what I do.”

Whitney is a coach for all seasons, as he assists with the football team in the summer and fall, moves inside for the basketball season, then returns to the outdoors for track season in the spring.

“Davelle has grown tremendously in his CTE role over the last two or three school years,” career development coordinator Meredith Dixon said. “His students are fully engaged and he has developed great relationships with them.”