Jaymi Wilbanks

Jaymi grew up in Whitmire, SC and graduated from Whitmire High School in 1989. She received her B.S.
in Elementary Education and a minor in English in 1993 from Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC.. She
married her high school sweetheart in November of 1993 and resided in Columbia, SC until 1996. Jaymi
and her husband, Chad,then built a home in 1996 in Irmo, SC. She taught at Hyatt Park Elementary in
2nd grade upon graduating in 1993. She then ended up teaching 2nd grade and 4th grade at Newberry
Academy in 1995 to be able to be closer to her parents who were not in good health.

In 2015, Newberry Academy’s Jaymi Wilbanks achieved the status of Master Teacher by the South
Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA). With this honor, Wilbanks joined an exclusive group
of teachers throughout the state of South Carolina, as only 14 teachers were selected to receive this
honor in 2015, which was SCISA’s 12th year awarding the title. She was recognized on Nov. 6, 2015, at
the Master Teacher Pinning Ceremony during SCISA’s Fall Teachers’ Conference, which was held in
Orangeburg, SC.

Along with being one of a small list of teachers throughout the state to have received this honor, Wilbanks
was and remains the first and only teacher from Newberry Academy to receive the Master Teacher
designation.

SCISA describes a Master Teacher as one who is a dynamic instructor who engages and challenges his
or her students, and who is also willing to share and collaborate with other faculty members for the benefit
of the school. Master Teachers are considered to be true standouts in their field.
Jaymi says, “I strive to be a dynamic instructor who goes above and beyond for both my students and my
fellow colleagues.”

Currently, Wilbanks will be starting her 33rd year of teaching in the fall, with 31 of those years being at
Newberry Academy, teaching second, fourth, and seventh grades. She also has served as the Academy’s
Lower School Coordinator. She was promoted to Assistant Head of School at Newberry Academy in
2023.

She and her husband, Chad, reside in Irmo and have three dogs-Boone, Gunnar, and Jingles, and three
children – Kathryn, a 2019 graduate of Newberry Academy; Jackson, a 2023 graduate of Newberry Academy, who will be a senior at Presbyterian
College in the fall; and Caleb, currently a senior at Newberry Academy, who will be a freshman at his
college of choice in the fall.