The Georgia Department of Education has announced that Fayette County’s 2022 Teacher of the Year, Christy Todd of Rising Starr Middle, is one of 10 finalists in the running for Georgia Teacher of the Year.

Todd, a music technology teacher at Rising Starr Middle, is the sixth Fayette County Teacher of the Year selected as a state finalist. She received the news in a surprise ceremony on March 3 from State School Superintendent Richard Woods.

The school system’s first-ever finalist was Dawn Burnette of McIntosh High (2005 county winner), followed by Shelly McLemore of Flat Rock Middle (2006 winner), Alexandra Vlachakis of Sandy Creek High (2014 winner), Suzette Weinhardt of Sandy Creek High (2016 winner), and Shaylen Dixon of Peachtree City Elementary (2017 winner).

If Todd wins, she will make history as the first Fayette County teacher selected as Georgia’s teacher of the year. 

The 10 finalists were chosen from a pool of applicants, all of whom had been previously selected as their school district’s Teacher of the Year. The applications were read by a panel of judges that included teachers, past Georgia Teacher of the Year winners and finalists, administrators, community leaders, and others. The finalists were chosen based on the strength of their essay responses.

The rest of the 10 finalists will be named throughout the month of March. The winner will be announced June 10, 2023.

The 2024 Georgia Teacher of the Year will travel around the state and nation serving as an ambassador for the teaching profession. The winner will also be entered in the National Teacher of the Year competition.