The Lafayette County School District announced its Teacher and Administrator of the Year on Thursday.

The district’s Teacher of the Year is Virginia Cornelius, a mathematician and faculty member at Lafayette High School.

The district’s Administrator of the Year is Lafayette Middle School principal James Everett.

Everett and Cornelius will now compete with nominees from other districts throughout the state for the the title of Mississippi Teacher of the Year and Administrator of the Year.

Lafayette has never had an administrator win the statewide award, but the Commodores are no stranger to the Mississippi Teacher of the Year award.

The district won the statewide competition in 2018 and 2019 when Whitney Drewrey and Hannah Gadd-Ardrey won the award in back-to-back years.

The Mississippi Teacher of the Year serves as an ambassador for the teaching profession by speaking to civic and professional organizations as well as other schools.

The award comes with a $5,000 bonus from the Mississippi Department of Education, a statewide recognition ceremony, a tuition waiver from William Carey University for an advanced degree, a classroom technology package from SMART Technology, and a spot on the state Teacher of the Year selection committee, among other privileges.

The selected teacher will also have the opportunity to apply for the National Teacher of the Year award.