GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Kindergarten teacher Joanne Timberlake was announced Thursday as Greenville County Schools' teacher of the year.

Timberlake teaches at Overbrook Child Development Center, but said that she believes her job starts way before the students arrive for their first day of school.

She visits her new students at their homes, to introduce herself and help calm the nerves of children and their parents.

"We really try to reassure the parents, find out what their concerns are, find out what they want for their children," Timberlake told WYFF News 4's Beth Brotherton.

Timberlake was honored at a breakfast meeting on Thursday.

She said she hastily prepared some remarks when she woke up in the middle of the night.

"Last night at 2 a.m., I thought I should just think about what I would say, just in case," Timberlake said.

Timberlake won a cash prize of $3,000, a trip for two to New York, a laptop computer and cell phone service for a year.

Still despite the honor, Timberlake said she's rather be working on her classroom or visiting students.

"I told someone this morning, I wish they would just e-mail us instead of making us sit through this breakfast," Timberlake said. "I'm not a big fan of all this attention."

Greenville County students will go back to school next week.

Most schools have events scheduled before the first day of classes so students and parents can meet their teachers.

The other teacher of the year finalists werePeter DeBoer, a science teacher at Roper Mountain Science Center; Catherine Eoute, a media specialist at Berea High; Susan McCoy, a sixth-grade science teacher at Northwest Middle; Janet Saxe, a fourth-grade teacher at Crestview Elementary; Emily West Smith, art teacher at Sara Collins Elementary; and Kathryn Thomas, a media specialist at Greenville Sr. High Academy.

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