CCSD Surprises Teacher of the Year Finalists
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CCSD Surprises Teacher of the Year Finalists
The Cherokee County School District today surprised four teachers with the news they are finalists for the 2026 CCSD Teacher of the Year award!
The four finalists are: Sarah Edwards, English literature and composition teacher at Dean Rusk Middle School; Jackson Martinez, PE teacher at Hickory Flat Elementary School; Bree Mixson, Early Intervention Program teacher at R.M. Moore ES STEM Academy; Bobby Mayo Wiggins II, carpentry and construction Career Pathway teacher at Cherokee High School.
Above: Sarah Edwards; below: Jackson Martinez.
Above: Bree Mixson; below: Bobby Mayo Wiggins II.
Superintendent of Schools Mary Elizabeth Davis and School Board members visited their classrooms to announce that the judging committee selected them as the top teachers of all CCSD schools’ and centers’ Teachers of the Year. Our teachers’ talent is unparalleled, and their dedication is unmatched! Thank you to our School Board for its investment in our outstanding educators to ensure our students are learning more, growing more, and achieving more in our classrooms than they could anywhere else!
School-level Teacher of the Year winners are selected by their colleagues. Four finalists – two selected from all elementary school-level winners and two from all middle, high and centers honorees – are selected by a committee of retired educators, community leaders and the current CCSD Teacher of the Year. Finalist selection is based on essay answers to questions about their careers and their views on teaching and education, and letters of support from principals, colleagues, students and parents.
The CCSD Teacher of the Year, who is one of the four finalists and also is selected by the committee, will be announced during CCSD’s Legacy Makers celebration for all school honorees in March. The CCSD winner will represent the school district in the Georgia Teacher of the Year competition.
The Legacy Makers banquet, and the prizes to be awarded to all the honorees, are made possible by presenting sponsors: Cherokee County Educational Foundation, Credit Union of Georgia, Northside Hospital Cherokee and Shottenkirk Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Canton. Additional financial and in-kind sponsorship opportunities are available; interested businesses and organizations are encouraged to please contact Penny Dempsey at penny.dempsey@cherokeek12.net or 770.479.1871.