CALHOUN, GA – Gordon County Schools recently honored school-level teachers of the year, employees of the year, and the community partner of the year during the first annual Golden Gordon Awards held on May 4 at the Gem Theatre. The evening concluded with the announcement of the system-wide winner of the distinguished Teacher of the Year title.
Christy Smith of Fairmount Elementary School was named the 2023-2024 Gordon County Schools Teacher of the Year. Smith currently serves as a Kindergarten teacher at Fairmount Elementary. She has served in education for over twenty-four years, twenty-one of which have been with Gordon County Schools.
She holds an Educational Specialist degree in Administration and Supervision from Lincoln Memorial University, a master’s degree in Special Education from Georgia State University, and a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from Georgia Southern University. Smith and her husband of seventeen years, Gary, have three daughters, Kasie, Haley, and Emma, and one granddaughter, Wrenley Mae.
School-level winners were first selected by their peers and local community and submitted applications as their school’s nominee for the system-level competition. Utilizing a rubric reflecting state and national teacher of the year scoring, a panel of judges made up of educators from across Georgia determined the three finalists that would be observed in consideration of naming the district teacher of the year. Finalists for the system-wide honors, announced in April, were Jacqueline Cascio from Red Bud Middle, India Bennett from W.L. Swain Elementary, and Smith.
Before naming Smith as the recipient of the district title, the panel of judges was then given the opportunity to observe each finalist in the classroom, review the finalist applications, and speak with students, colleagues, and administrators at each of their schools in an effort to effectively evaluate how each finalist would represent Gordon County Schools with the System-Wide Teacher of the Year title.
As the Gordon County Schools Teacher of the Year, Smith received a banner, certificate, trophy, a pair of Apple AirPods and gifts from local community partners in honor of her achievement. She will now advance as the Gordon County Schools nominee for the Georgia Teacher of the Year competition.
Thank you to our community partners for your sponsorship of the 2023-2024 Golden Gordon Awards: Prater Ford, Booth Western Art Museum, Savoy Automobile Museum, Longhorn Steakhouse, Southern Creamery, Gordon County College and Career Academy of design and Advanced Manufacturing, and the Milton M. Ratner Foundation.
To learn about each of the school-level Gordon County Schools Teachers of the Year and finalists, navigate to www.gcbe.org/teacheroftheyear.
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About Gordon County Schools
Gordon County Schools system serves approximately 6,500 students in schools across the county including six elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools. The mission of the Gordon County School system is to build a collaborative culture that engages all students and staff in learning experiences leading to growth, empowerment, and transformation.
Contact at Gordon County Schools:
Kendra Pannell
Communications Coordinator
Email: kpannell@gcbe.org
Phone: (706) 629-7366 ext. 8151
Website: www.gcbe.org