The three finalists for the 2008 Coweta
County Teacher of the Year have been chosen. They are:
Carly Winstead, a 2nd grade teacher at Elm Street Elementary
School
Janey Allen, a Kindergarten teacher at Poplar Road Elementary
School
Amy Benton, a science teacher at Newnan High School
Last year’s Coweta County Teachers of the Year (TOTY) chose the
three finalists from among the 29 Teachers of the Year who
represent Coweta County’s 29 public schools.
All of Coweta’s 2008 Teachers of the Year will be recognized at
a May 12 Teacher of the Year program, which the Board of
Education and the Newnan Pilot Club present annually. This
year’s program will be held at 7 p.m., at the school system’s
Central Office auditorium, at 167 Werz Industrial Drive in
Newnan.
The 2008 Teacher of the Year will be chosen from among the
finalists by an independent three-judge panel. The 2008 TOTY
will be announced at the May 12 program, and will also serve as
a candidate for Georgia Teacher of the Year.
Smokey Road Middle School teacher Clay Hildebrand was announced
as the 2007 Teacher of the year at last year’s program, and is
currently one of ten finalists for the 2009 Georgia Teacher of
the Year honor. Hildebrand will attend the Georgia Teacher of
the Year program in Atlanta on Friday, May 9.
Coweta County’s 29 School Teachers of the Year were elected in
February by their fellow faculty members. They are:
From elementary schools: Paige Marlow, Special Education
(Arbor Springs); Karley Walker, Physical Education (Arnco-Sargent
Elementary); Nina Wimbley, 4th Grade (Atkinson Elementary); Nell
Benefield, Special Education (Canongate Elementary); John
Shapley, Music (Eastside Elementary); Carly Winstead, 2nd Grade
(Elm Street Elementary); Glenn Darden, Physical Education
(Grantville Elementary); Julie Jackson, Fourth Grade (Jefferson
Elementary); Betsye McDonald, 2nd Grade (Moreland Elementary);
Kelly Partin, 5th Grade (Newnan Crossing Elementary); Lisa Luker,
1st Grade (Northside Elementary); Janey Allen, Kindergarten
(Poplar Road Elementary); Cheryl Richardson, Kindergarten (Ruth
Hill Elementary); Erin Gladden, 1st Grade (Thomas Crossroads
Elementary); Daphne Stephens Dash, 2nd Grade (Welch Elementary);
Terry Allison, 5th Grade (Western Elementary); Sharon Liebe,
Pre-Kindergarten (White Oak Elementary); Shelly Thompson, 1st
Grade (Willis Road Elementary).
From middle schools: Pam Ridge, 7th grade Social Studies
(Arnall Middle); Juliet Dean, 6th Grade Science (East Coweta
Middle); Vera Perry-Harris, 6th Grade Literature (Evans Middle);
Lisa Redmon, 6th Grade Language Arts (Lee Middle); Corrie Sears,
8th Grade Special Education (Madras Middle); Tasheti Thompson,
Remediation Math Teacher (Smokey Road Middle).
From high schools: Kevin Pullen, Graphic Arts and
Telecommunications (Central Educational Center); Glenna With,
English (East Coweta High); Amy Benton, Science (Newnan High
School); Michael Berry, History (Northgate High School); Melissa
Houghton, Middle School History (Winston Dowdell Academy).
Teachers of the Year are selected by their peers for the quality
of their teaching, professional development, teaching philosophy
and methods, community involvement, and contributions to
education. From the local nominees will come three finalists,
one of whom will be chosen Coweta Teacher of the Year and
nominee for Georgia Teacher of the Year.
The Coweta County School System is the only school system in
Georgia with three state teachers of the year, including
Lorraine Johnson, Nancy Royal and Jamie Lipscomb. There have
also been thirteen Georgia TOTY semi-finalists from Coweta since
1986, including state nominee Clay Hildebrand this year. |