Media release provided by BMW Manufacturing Co.
Spartanburg, S.C. – South Carolina State Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver announced Thursday that Dr. Christie Palladino, a biomedical sciences teacher at Aiken County Career and Technology Center, has been named the 2027South Carolina Teacher of the Year.
Dr. Palladino received the state’s top education honor during the South Carolina Department of Education’s annual Gala in the Garden, held at the Governor’s Mansion in Columbia. A former obstetrician-gynecologist and medical researcher, Dr. Palladino transitioned to the classroom 12 years ago and brings real-world experience to hands-on learning every day.
As part of the celebration, BMW Manufacturing, the program’s premier sponsor for nearly three decades, presented Dr. Palladino with the keys to a new 2026 BMWX5 sDrive40i, which she will drive during her year of service as South Carolina's public education ambassador.
The BMW X5 sDrive 40i awarded to Dr. Christie Palladino parked in front of the Governor’s Mansion in Columbia, South Carolina. BMW Manufacturing Co.
