Ashley Reynolds-Bowers named Alamance-Burlington schools’ 2026 Teacher of the Year

Ashley Reynolds-Bowers built her reputation at Walter M. Williams High School by helping students with disabilities learn skills that reach beyond the classroom, and the Alamance-Burlington School System named her its 2026 Teacher of the Year on Tuesday evening at First Presbyterian Church in Burlington.

Reynolds-Bowers, known to colleagues as Ms. ARB, is an Adapted Curriculum teacher who began her career at Williams 21 years ago as a science teacher. She moved into the district’s Adapted Curriculum program in 2017, where instruction centers on life and workplace skills and extended content standards for students with disabilities, including autism and multiple disabilities.

Her classroom work has drawn wider attention through a mini grant project at Williams called Bones for Bulldogs, which Elon University profiled as a dog treat enterprise that gives students hands-on experience in baking, entrepreneurship and communication skills. That kind of work puts practical learning at the center of the school day, with students practicing the same skills they will need in jobs, community settings and daily life.

Reynolds-Bowers’ path to Alamance County started in Caswell County. She graduated from Bartlett Yancey High School in Yanceyville, earned a chemistry degree from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University and later received her teaching license from UNC-Greensboro.

The honor came during the Alamance Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual Excellence in Education awards ceremony, a program the Chamber has described as a major community partnership. In a 2018 recap, the Chamber said the community investment in the awards program was nearly $50,000, underscoring how deeply local businesses and civic leaders have backed the district’s educators.

That same Chamber recap said the Teacher of the Year package included a national conference, a Go Global NC trip to Mexico, $3,000 in cash awards and gift cards. The Chamber also noted then that, within seven years, local Teachers of the Year had gone on to earn Piedmont Triad Region Teacher of the Year honors and that two had been named North Carolina Teacher of the Year, giving the award a track record that extends well beyond one night in Burlington.

For Williams High School, Reynolds-Bowers’ recognition reflects more than a ceremony. It highlights a classroom model built around independence, communication and practical skill-building, and it puts a longtime Alamance County educator at the center of a districtwide effort to show what excellent instruction can change in students’ lives.