Two Northern Panhandle Teachers Named W.Va. Teacher Of The Year Finalists
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Two Northern Panhandle teachers have been placed among the five finalists for West Virginia Teacher of the Year, the West Virginia Department of Education announced Monday.
Stephanie Cirilli, a Title I reading specialist at Elm Grove Elementary School, and Morgan Bricker, an English and journalism teacher at Weir High School, were named among the finalists Monday. Since 1964, the West Virginia Teacher of the Year program has honored educators who go above and beyond to elevate the profession and positively shape the lives of students. West Virginia's educator recognition program remains one of the largest and longest-running programs of its kind in the nation.
The 2027 Teacher of the Year will be announced announced during the Champions of Learning Gala on Sept. 8, 2026. The current West Virginia Teacher of the Year is Wheeling Middle School special education teacher Tiffany Barnes.
Bricker is a 20-year veteran teacher who has established student media programs at three high schools. Since 2017, she has taught English 11, journalism, broadcasting, newspaper, yearbook and dual-credit media literacy at Weir High School in Hancock County. She holds a permanent West Virginia professional teaching certificate in English, a Bachelor of Arts in English from Muskingum University with minors in psychology, speech communication, and Spanish.
Additionally, she earned a Master of Arts in Journalism Mass Communication from Kent State University. Bricker is also a certified journalism educator and master journalism educator through the Journalism Education Association. In 2025, Bricker crafted Hancock County Schools' application to participate in the News Literacy Project District Fellowship program and serves as its lead fellow. She is a Public Broadcasting System student reporting labs teacher ambassador, the West Virginia Journalism Education Association state director, a blog coordinator for the Journalism Education Association Scholastic Press Rights Committee and is the co-founder and president of the West Virginia Scholastic Media Association.
From 2021-2023, Bricker collaborated with the Student Press Law Center and state stakeholders to enact West Virginia New Voices legislation and helped secure the First Amendment Press Freedom Award for Weir High School in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
Cirilli is an 18-year teaching veteran who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education with an elementary endorsement and a minor in Multi-categorical Special Education from Bethany College, a Master of Arts in Reading from West Virginia University and a Doctor of Education in K-12 Leadership from Jones International University. Additionally, she is a National Board Certified Teacher with an exceptional needs specialist specialization. In the classroom, Cirilli draws on Fred Rogers’ philosophy to provide a nurturing, safe environment for all students while implementing instruction grounded in the Science of Reading. Cirilli collaborates in leading the Title I Schoolwide Planning Committee and works with her Title I team to plan schoolwide initiatives, including family engagement nights.
She also facilitates Time to Read--a schoolwide reading incentive program--for Grades K-2. Beyond the classroom, she is an adjunct instructor in education at Wheeling University and serves on the University’s Education Personnel Preparation Advisory Committee.
The other three finalists are Heather Hartman from the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, Nicole Mattingly from Clay-Battelle Middle/High School and
Laura Presley from Princeton Senior High School.