The 2022 Teacher of the Year in Muscogee County will be one of these three finalists
The 2022 Teacher of the Year in the Muscogee County School District will be one of these three finalists:
- Gena Davis, Dimon Magnet Academy, K-5 special education
- Vanessa Ellis, Veterans Memorial Middle School, eighth-grade social studies
- Andrea McCarthy, Richards Middle School, seventh-grade English language arts.
The Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation, which conducts MCSD’s Teacher of the Year program, announced the finalists Tuesday as board members made surprise visits to their classrooms. They were selected from 10 semifinalists and 52 nominees.
The nominees, designated by their school’s staff, were announced in January. The semifinalists were announced March 9 after the selection committee read each nominee’s application. The committee, comprising local business and education leaders, interviewed the semifinalists to determine the finalists.
“We expected to hear a lot about the challenges teachers faced in the last two years, said MEEF executive director and selection committee member Marquette McKnight said in a news release, “but mostly what we heard were the stories about what they do; the extraordinary dedication and passion they have for their students; their appreciation, respect and care for their fellow teachers; their enthusiasm and interest in a myriad of opportunities, including personalized learning, utilizing technology in new ways, early intervention, deepening their relationships with students and helping them with social/emotional learning. The sentiments of these exceptional teachers are genuinely inspirational.”
The other semifinalists were:
Committee members will observe the finalists teaching in their classroom. The winner will be announced during the foundation’s annual gala, May 5 in the Columbus Convention & Trade Center. The $50 tickets for the gala are on sale at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts box office.
The selection committee members are:
- Carl Brown of C. Brown & Associates
- Donovan Granville of Social Security Administration
- Sheryl Green, MCSD’s 2015 Teacher of the Year
- Tom Hackett (chairman), retired educator
- Donna Kemp, retired educator
- Shane Larkin, MCSD’s 2017 Teacher of the Year
- Marquette McKnight of Media, Marketing and More
- Josh Reynolds of TSYS/Global Payments
- Dacia Sheffield, MCSD’s 2019 Teacher of the Year
- Len Williams of Columbus Affordable Housing Services.
MEEF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering educational excellence by focusing on teachers who are innovative and exceptionally effective. In its 26-year history, the foundation has awarded more than $2.9 million to such educators through the Teacher of the Year and Harvard Fellows programs and other grants.
The MCSD Teacher of the Year semifinalists are eligible to become a Harvard Fellow. Since 2012, the foundation has paid for the expenses to send a group of MCSD teachers to Harvard University during the summer for a week of professional development.
This story was originally published March 29, 2022 at 12:36 PM.
