Congratulations to our semifinalists for Gwinnett County Teacher of the Year (TOTY)! As we focus on excellence in the classroom, our field of 139 local school TOTYs has been trimmed to 25 semifinalists. Next up, our panel of judges will have the difficult task of selecting just six finalists to vie for the district title. Our county TOTY and level winners will be announced on Nov. 14 at a special event to celebrate all of our local school TOTYs. Stay tuned!
This year’s Gwinnett County Teacher of the Year semifinalists are:
Vivarine Argilagos of Lovin Elementary School, 1st Grade Teacher
Rebecca Carlisle of North Gwinnett High School, AP World History Teacher (Grade 10)
Alice Carscaddon of Burnette Elementary School, Art Teacher (Grades K-5)
Kelsey Case of Chattahoochee Elementary School, Special Education Teacher – Autism Spectrum Disorder (Level 1) (Grade K)
Anthony Dramis of Hull Middle School, Mathematics Teacher (Grade 8)
Celisa Edwards of Dacula Middle School, Mathematics and Science Teacher (Grade 7)
Jamie Gowen of Winn Holt Elementary School, Gifted Education Teacher (Grades 1-5)
Matthew Green of Berkeley Lake Elementary School, Music Teacher (Grades K-5)
Michelle Green of Grayson High School, Chorus Teacher (Grades 9-12)
Ellen Hill of Dyer Elementary School, 5th Grade Teacher
Colleen LaPerre of Brookwood Elementary School, Gifted, Advanced, and Accelerated Mathematics Teacher (Grades 5 and 6)
Christy Lueke of Patrick Elementary School, Music Teacher (Grades K-5)
Lee Newman of Norcross High School, Band and IB Music Teacher (Grades 9-12)
LeTricia E. Parks of Meadowcreek Elementary School, 3rd Grade Teacher
Abbey Quintero of McKendree Elementary School, 3rd Grade Teacher – Language Arts
Carrie Rajek of Harbins Elementary School, Physical Education and Health Teacher (Grades K-5)
Gulannar Rattani of Moore Middle School, Algebra I Teacher – Gear Up for Graduation Program (Grade 8)
Alyson Reilly of Craig Elementary School, English to Speakers of Other Languages Lead Teacher (Grades K-5)
Amber Simmons of Brookwood High School, Language Arts, AP Language and Composition, and AP Capstone Teacher (Grades 11 and 12)
Ashton Simpson of Walnut Grove Elementary School, 4th Grade Teacher
Kelly Sloan of Osborne Middle School, Social Studies Teacher (Grade 8)
Elizabeth Summerlin of Mill Creek High School, AP U.S. History Teacher (Grade 11)
Lori Tschan of Riverside Elementary School, Language Arts and Social Studies Teacher (Grade 4)
Shemika Turner of Chesney Elementary School, 4th Grade Teacher
Brad Zickefoose of Radloff Middle School, Science Teacher (Grade 6)