LANDIS — Rowan County’s teachers migrated south Tuesday to get fired up for the new school year. The annual Back to School Conference was held at South Rowan High School.

The day started off with a bang: the naming of the new Teacher and Principal of the Year. Abby Covington of Millbridge Elementary was named 2017 Teacher of the Year, and Angelo DelliSanti of Carson High Schoo, was named 2017 Principal of the Year.

In opening remarks, Superintendent Lynn Moody tried to inspire employees by telling them that for one child, they are “that teacher.”

“That teacher,” she explained, is the one who has inspired a child, who made them fall in love with learning or who believed in them when no one else would.

Every teacher, she said, is “that teacher” to a student.

“I don’t want you to ever forget that,” she said.

Moody also focused on the district’s mission and vision statements, which encourage students and teachers to “achieve the extraordinary.”

“There is nothing in our mission and vision that talks about standardized testing,” Moody said.

While standards are important, she urged teachers to not let them overshadow the true heart of the profession. A classroom needs to be balanced between standards and creativity, she said.

“You, as a teacher, are in the best position to know what your classroom needs that day,” she said.

And the key to student success is not standards, testing or good grades — it’s relationships.

“Culture and relationships in the classroom trump everything else you will do,” she said.

Teachers are in the “teaching and learning business,” not the testing business, she said. She encouraged the teachers to “take back our profession” by choosing to create and build relationships.

After announcements of Teacher and Principal of the Year, the crowd dispersed into classrooms for a day of professional development, collaboration and inspiration.

Students return to school Monday.

Contact reporter Rebecca Rider at 704-797-4264.