Teacher of the Year
The Teacher of the Year program strives to promote and retain quality teachers and focuses on three program goals:
Elevate the teaching profession by recognizing, celebrating, and
providing unique and innovative learning experiences for highly accomplished teachers.Amplify teacher voice to advance student learning and champion
student success.Expose teachers to relevant policy topics and develop the context
for teacher leadership.
In Pickens County, we follow the guidance from the Georgia Department of Education's Georgia TOTY program.
Each school selects a Teacher of the Year based on the GA DOE criteria. Each school-level winner then competes for the Pickens County School District Teacher of the Year. For this step of the process, school-level winners are evaluated by a committee made up of community members and retired educators. The evaluation includes a paper application review, a teaching video review, and an in-person panel interview. The scores are compiled for all three areas and the candidate with the highest score is announced as our district winner at an annual Teacher of the Year banquet held in May. The winner goes on to compete for the Georgia Teacher of the Year.
Meet the 2024-25 Teachers of the Year
Tammy Duncan is the 2024-25 Teacher of the Year for Pickens County School District
Congratulations to Tammy Duncan, of Jasper Middle School, for being named the 2024-25 Teacher of the Year for Pickens County School District. She will go on to compete for the 2026 Georgia State Teacher of the Year.
