2010 Tennessee Teacher of the Year Finalists Announced

Thursday, May 28, 2009 | 06:38am

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Education is proud to announce the finalists for the 2010 Tennessee Teacher of the Year Award. The nine regional winners are comprised of elementary, middle and high school educators from each grand division of the state. Grand Division winners and Teacher of the Year will be chosen from this group.

“Each year we are reminded of just how many outstanding educators we have in this state. As we move forward with implementing the Tennessee Diploma Project, it is those teachers we will rely on to be our framework of support,” Education Commissioner Timothy Webb said. “Only one teacher will be ‘Teacher of the Year’ but this is a time to give thanks to all of our educators for ensuring our students are college and career ready.”

The nine finalists for 2010 Teacher of the Year are:

  • Resa Byrd                    Knox County                 A.L. Lotts Elementary School
  • Amy  Crawford               Knox County                West Valley Middle School
  • Joan Donahue               Shelby County              Crosswind Elementary School
  • Robert Gant                  Hamblen County            Morristown-Hamblen East High School
  • Julia Goodwin               Memphis City                Cordova High School
  • Jana Hendrix                 Warren County              West Elementary School
  • Barbara Hillis                 Warren County              Dibrell Elementary School
  • Patty Kiddy                   McNairy County             Selmer Elementary School
  • Martha Long                  Franklin County             Huntland High School

 

The Teacher of the Year program is sponsored by the Niswonger Foundation. A partner for nearly six years, the foundation provides $21,000 in monetary awards to encourage professional development, graduate study, higher student outcomes and mentoring. As a show of appreciation and encouragement for teacher excellence, the foundation sponsors a banquet each fall for finalists.

The final winner will represent Tennessee in the National Teacher of the Year competition and is an ambassador for education throughout the year. To qualify, candidates must have been teaching full-time for at least five years, have a proven record of using creative, research-based teaching strategies resulting in measurable achievement and be effective school and community leaders. A panel of professional educators from across the state scored applications to identify these finalists.


For more information, contact Rachel Woods at (615) 253-1960 or Rachel.Woods@tn.gov. 


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