And the winner of the Muscogee County Teacher of the Year award is . . .
Amanda Zarate, who teaches theater at Wynnton Arts Academy, is the Muscogee County School District 2025 Teacher of the Year.
The Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation, which conducts MCSD’s Teacher of the Year program, announced the winner Thursday night during its annual gala. A sellout crowd of more than 1,100 people attended the event in the Columbus Convention & Trade Center.
Each year, the staff at every MCSD school may nominate a teacher for this award. This year’s 54 nominees were announced in January during a ceremony in Legacy Hall at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts.
MEEF’s selection committee, comprising Columbus business and education leaders, evaluated the nominees’ applications to narrow the field to 10 semifinalists, announced in March.
The committee interviewed the semifinalists to determine three finalists, announced in April as MEEF and MCSD officials made surprise classroom visits.
Then, to decide the winner, committee members observed the finalists teaching a lesson.
Why Amanda Zarate is MCSD Teacher of the Year
Selection committee chairman Josh Reynolds of TSYS described Zarate’s connection with her students as “truly something special.”
“She brings a unique energy and empathy into her classroom that allows students to feel seen, heard and inspired,” he said in MEEF’s news release. “Amanda meets each student where they are — with compassion, creativity and confidence. It’s clear she’s built a space where students feel safe to express themselves and are empowered to grow. That’s what stood out to the committee.”
Selection committee member and MCSD 2023 Teacher of the Year Tasha Morman observed Zarate teaching life skills through theater skills.
“Amanda goes far beyond the stage, using theater as a vessel to teach her students everything from communication and collaboration to confidence and critical thinking.”
Zarate, a former U.S. Army tank track mechanic, wrote in her application that she used the Army’s values (loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage) to inform her teaching philosophy.
“As a theatre educator, my goal is to help students communicate and express themselves through theatre skills,” she wrote. “I believe all students are capable of achieving great things, regardless of their background. Eight years in, I take immense pride in creating a positive learning environment that engages students while respecting the many different ways they learn.”
More about Amanda Zarate’s background
Originally from Illinois, Zarate came to Columbus as a soldier in the U.S. Army when she was stationed at Fort Benning.
Zarate earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Columbus State University. She is in a doctoral program there. It’s a big change from working as a tank mechanic in the Army, where she was a specialist when was honorably discharged after four years of service.
Initially thinking she would become a theater performer, Zarate decided to become a theater teacher so she could have more stable working hours to be more available for her son as a single mother.
Zarate first wanted to teach in a high school, but she now enjoys “all the hugs” her K-5 students give her.
“I didn’t realize the amount of love and attention that the students at this level needed,” she told the Ledger-Enquirer last month, when she was announced as a finalist for this award.
Zarate cherishes her career’s journey.
“I think I’m still going,” she said. “I just feel grateful to be able to share my ideas and to help teachers feel heard, help students feel heard. … There are so many grownups that don’t know how to communicate. If I could help kids at this age feel like they can communicate better with their thoughts, their emotions, their ideas, then I’ve done something.”
Highlights of Amanda Zarate’s acceptance speech
During her acceptance speech Thursday night, Zarate told the crowd she grew up in a situation similar to the disadvantaged home life many of her students struggle to overcome.
“Waiting on food stamps every month to get decent food in the house,” she said. “Devouring the breakfast pizza in elementary school because it was free. Wearing my brother’s hand-me-down clothes. . . . Trying to keep my one pair of school shoes nice the whole year.”
Zarate used to be embarrassed about those circumstances.
“Now, I own my childhood,” she said. “It’s my strongest tool I have to connect with my students.”
Connecting with her students in the fully committed way she feels they deserve, Zarate acknowledged, means sacrificing time elsewhere in her life, such as attending her son’s activities or submitting her doctoral coursework on time.
“If I’m excelling at one thing, then something else is lacking,” she said. “. . . I am still learning, and I am still reaching for things to help make me a better person in every facet of my life.”
Zarate addressed her son, Liam, “my sweet boy,” as she apologized for missing his “school plays, awards days and little moments that I’ll never get back.
“I’m so sorry. Please know that no award, no recognition, will ever come before you in my heart. I love you, and I’m learning to manage my time better so I can show up more — for you.”
Zarate also spoke as a advocate for the arts in education.
“The arts are not a side note in education; they’re a heartbeat,” she said. “In my classroom, students learn to express themselves, collaborate, take creative risks and build confidence. They find their voice, and they realize that their presence — their very existence — matters.
“That is the power of the arts. And this moment, this honor, is not just about me; it’s about the value of arts education in every corner of our district.”
What the nominees, semifinalists, finalists and winner received
During the gala, the nominees received a framed certificate of recognition and $100. The semifinalists received $500, and the finalists received $1,000. As the winner, Zarate received $5,000.
“We are especially grateful to our generous supporters who enable MEEF to reward and recognize exceptional teachers,” foundation chairman Wes Kelley of Brasfield & Gorrie said in the news release.
The MCSD Teacher of the Year program sponsors are:
- W.C. Bradley Company
- Kinetic Credit Union
- Synovus
- This WORKS
- Chancelight
- Brasfield & Gorrie
- Janet Davis
- Hughston Clinic
- Hecht Burdeshaw Architects
- TSYS
- Virtucom
- Colony Bank
- Columbus State University
- Columbus Water Works
- Freeman & Associates
- Hall Booth Smith
- Hughston Clinic
- Muscogee Retired Educators Association
- Outfront Media
- Bill Reaves
- Robinson, Grimes & Company
- Spud Bowen & Associates
MEEF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering educational excellence by helping teachers who are innovative and exceptionally effective in the public schools of Columbus. Since it was established 29 years ago, the foundation has awarded more than $3.3 million to such educators through financial incentives in the Teacher of the Year program, the MEEF Grant program, the MEEF Endowment Fund and the Harvard Fellows program.
MEEF’s 2025 Teacher of the Year selection committee members are:
- Josh Reynolds (chairman) of TSYS/Global Payments
- Vanessa Ellis, MCSD 2022 Teacher of the Year
- Michael Graydon of Synovus
- Sheryl Green, MCSD 2015 Teacher of the Year
- John Dale Hester of Columbus United FC
- Marquette McKnight of Media, Marketing and More
- Tasha Morman, MCSD 2023 Teacher of the Year
- John Pezold of Whit’s Frozen Custard
- Gina Smith of Keller Williams
- Ty Webb of W.C. Bradley Company.
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 9:02 PM.
