Matey is one of Charleston County’s outstanding teachers. She is a dedicated professional who works hard at all she does. She is a tireless worker, coordinating events and programs at her school. If something needs to be done at Laing, Matey does it. She sponsors the Academic Bowl Team, the Quest Team, the Student Council, and chairs the Social Studies department. She is organized and efficient. Students have a lot of success at Laing because of her diligence. She worked on the social studies curriculum standards and gifted and talented curriculum for Greenville schools. She has taught English as well as social studies to middle school and high school students. Matey sees everything in cross-curricular ways and integrates all disciplines in every lesson.

Greg has been a leader at his school and in Greenville County in working with other teachers in instructional strategies. He has developed several classroom simulations for active student learning which he has sahred in workshops with other teachers, including a model legislative curriculum that incorporates research, debate, and advertising, as welll as courtroom simulations surrounding first amendment issues. He has served on several district committees and has helped to write model syllabi for core courses. He has kept abreast of new scholarships and incorporated what he has learned into his curriculum. Among the items he has used to keep him up-to-date and on the cutting edge of Social Studies knowledge are his use of new literature available on the Holocaust, the University of Michigan’s recent data on elections, literature on the Constitution and the New Federalist Papers, regular attendance at the South Carolina Council for Economic Education workshops, and use of their recent material on environmental economics. He has used these and other sources to foster in his students a spirit of inquiry and research as well as the ability to think and make decisions for themselves on important issues. Greg regularly takes initiative to involve his students in active participation opportunities ranging from work with political campaigns and elections to Youth in Government programs to peer tutoring.

This South Carolina Humanities Council endored prgram far exceeded the expected perimeters of success. Phone calls from parents and community leaders flooded the Dorchester School District Two district office following the culminating program at Drayton Hall. Personal heartfelt testimonies from parents whose pride and delight in their son’s or daughter’s "epiphany" was apparent throughout the conversations. This program touched people’s lives. The foresight and planning that went into this program was monumental but the benefits even surpassed the planning. This program bonded students from diverse backgrounds together, as well as, their parents and community. The publicity that was received from this program was overwhelming. The South Carolina Humanities Council called to say that they, too, had been besieged by other schools wanting to know more about the program.