Houston High teacher takes top honors for West TN
A Germantown Municipal School District teacher was named the Grand Division winner for West Tennessee in the state’s 2018-19 Teacher of the Year awards Thursday night.
Michael Robinson was one of three awarded at a banquet in Nashville. He is a social studies teacher at Houston High.
“Robinson serves as a leader in education and is a Blue Chip mentor for new teachers at Houston High,” the Tennessee Department of Education said in a release. “As a geography and history teacher, Michael makes it a priority to travel as part of his professional development, both by leading student tours and also presenting at and attending conferences in countries such as South Korea, Singapore, China, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, among others.”
Germantown Superintendent Jason Manuel praised Robinson’s achievement.
“Michael is a dedicated teacher who brings real world experiences into the classroom,” Manuel said.
Melissa Miller, a firstgrade teacher in Franklin, received the overall Teacher of the Year award. She was also the division winner from middle Tennessee. She will serve as Tennessee’s representative in the 2019 National Teacher of the Year Program.
The winner from the east side of the state was Lori Farley, a media specialist at North City Elementary in Athens City Schools.
Nine finalists, three from each region, were announced in May. The finalists will serve on the state’s Teacher Advisory Council this school year.
“This council acts as a working group of expert teachers to provide feedback and inform the work of the department throughout the school year,” the state said in the release.
Reach Jennifer Pignolet at jennifer.pignolet@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @JenPignolet.
Abigail Warren contributed to this story.