Waters named county schools Teacher of the Year
Gordon County Schools honored 10 Teachers of the Year during the annual Teacher of the Year reception on May 2.
At this event, the systemwide winner of Teacher of the Year title was also announced.
Katy Waters of Fairmount Elementary School is the 2022-2023 Gordon County Schools Teacher of the Year. Waters currently serves as both the media specialist and a first-grade teacher at Fairmount Elementary and has served in education in multiple positions for over twelve years, with ten of those years in Gordon County Schools.
She holds a bachelor’s degree from Dalton State College, a Master of Arts degree from Piedmont College, and
an education specialist degree from Piedmont College. She and her husband, Matthew, have three children.
School-level winners were first selected by their peers 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 Amal Yacoub from Sonoraville High, Christina Cote from W.L. Swain Elementary, and Waters.
Before naming Waters 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 what each finalist would bring to the Gordon County Teacher of the Year title.
As the Gordon County Schools Teacher of the Year, Waters received a banner, certificate, and gifts in honor of her achievement. She will now advance as the Gordon County Schools nominee for the Georgia Teacher of the Year competition.
To learn about each of the school-level Gordon County Schools Teachers of the Year, finalists, and view photos from the event please navigate to gcbe.org/teacheroftheyear.