Christy Todd, Georgia’s Teacher of the Year, has been nominated for the same title nationally.
She will now compete against three teachers from Alaska, New Jersey and Tennessee, said the announcement from Georgia School Superintendent Richard Woods, who praised her creativity in the classroom.
“Christy expands students’ horizons and prepares them for potential careers in Georgia’s growing creative industries by combining technology with the fine arts,” Woods said.
To address student wellbeing during the pandemic, she led the development of a schoolwide Make Kindness Normal podcast, the Council of Chief State School Officers said in a news release announcing the finalists.
In her role as state Teacher of the Year, Todd has been a passionate promoter of education, calling for more funding for public schools and advocating for their role as a foundation for prosperity. The position gives teachers a yearlong sabbatical from the classroom so they can travel the state to give speeches about public education.
The national Teacher of the Year, selected from among 55 Teachers of the Year for the states plus the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense and U.S. extra-state territories, gets training to communicate about educational practices and to participate in policy discussions. Georgia’s Teacher of the Year has a nonvoting seat on the state education board, whose voting members are appointed by governors.
Here are five things to know about Georgia’s Teacher of the Year:
The beginning
Todd grew up in south metro Atlanta, on a farm in Senoia, in Coweta County. The community went from having no traffic lights to becoming a magnet for the film industry, hosting the production of “Stranger Things,” “The Walking Dead” and installments from the Marvel Universe.
Growing up
Todd comes from a family of educators. Her mother is a retired high school health occupations teacher. Her husband works with dual enrollment partnerships in technical colleges. Her father, who is facilities director for Fayette County Public Schools, built the school where Todd now works. When she was 12, he took her to the job site and pointed to the pile of dirt that would become the auditorium and the concrete pour that is now the chorus room.
Career
Todd earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Shorter College and a Master of Music Education from Florida State University. She worked in business development for nonprofits before becoming a teacher. She has been teaching music at Rising Starr Middle School for 15 years. The former choral director developed the school’s music technology program to align curriculum with opportunities in the booming film industry. The school runs a recording label called Hall Pass Entertainment that distributes content across streaming platforms. Students learn how to create songs, podcasts, videos, audiobooks and more.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Advocacy
Since becoming Georgia’s Teacher of the Year in summer 2023, Todd has traveled the state to speak to various groups. She said she’s talked to over a thousand high school and college students urging them to become teachers.
Goals
Todd has been urging lawmakers to increase funding for public schools, noting that state money for busing, in particular, has stagnated as costs have risen for districts. Georgia needs more educated workers, and she reasons that public school teachers are essential to fulfill that demand. “For Georgia to prosper economically, we must recruit and retain excellent teachers,” she told the House Education Committee. “But to do that, it’s essential that we elevate the teaching profession, so we are competitive in the job market.”
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