5 Georgia teachers honored for contributions to early childhood education. Who are they?
Five Georgia teachers were recognized Friday as the annual winners of the Early Childhood Educators of the Year awards at a first-time award ceremony luncheon.
The Early Childhood Educator of the Year winners were: Noel Weimer for the Infant Category, Bianca Brown for the Toddler Category, Chantelle Hester for the Preschool Category, Merodie Brown for Georgia Pre-K Teacher of the Year – Private School, and Charlotte Richards for Georgia Pre-K Teacher of the Year – Public School.
Stephanie Blank, founding chair of the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Children and longtime partner of the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, was also recognized.
Laura Wagner, executive director of the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, said Blank created the awards starting in 2016.
“She first envisioned these awards many years ago and she has made these awards possible in partnership with DECAL since that time,” she said.
DECAL is the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, a state agency responsible for meeting the child care and early education needs of Georgia’s children and their families. It administers Georgia’s Pre-K Program which is nationally recognized, licenses child care centers and home-based child care, administers Georgia’s Childcare and Parent Services program, federal nutrition programs, and manages Quality Rated, Georgia’s community powered child care rating system.
The department also houses the Head Start State Collaboration Office, distributes federal funding to enhance the quality and availability of child care, and works collaboratively with Georgia child care resource and referral agencies and organizations throughout the state to enhance early care and education.
Wagner said the Friday event was the first time to celebrate the winners together.
“We were able to bring together our five winners in front of an audience of diverse backgrounds so that a wide range of individuals could hear from them,” she said. “We also were able to celebrate them with a performance by Coy Bowles, lead guitarist from the Zac Brown Band.”
Two Georgia Pre-K Teachers of the Year have been recognized each year since 2016 and three Early Childhood Educators of the Year have been recognized since 2021, according to Wagner.
Wagner said the awards lift up the importance of the Early Childhood workforce in Georgia.
“These teachers deserve all the praise we can possibly give them, and we know there are many more teachers across the state of Georgia who are deserving of the same kinds of recognition,” she said.
Reg Griffin, DECAL chief communications officer, said the early child care and education industry is vital to fueling the local economy.
“The early child care and education industry enables all other businesses and industries to succeed – by providing working parents with child care they can trust – so celebrating in this space of commerce seems right,” he said.
Griffin said the program is not a popularity contest - to be considered, teachers must meet an extensive list of criteria and undergo a rigorous application process. Applications are reviewed by a team of unbiased DECAL staff who identify finalists for each category.
Finalists must then participate in an interview and a classroom evaluation, which are also scored by an independent DECAL team.
Griffin said in addition to the title of Teacher of the Year, winners also receive other perks – a check for personal use, money for a classroom makeover, and money to be used as they make appearances and attend conferences during their year as Teacher of the Year.
“This year, we are proud to have selected another round of stellar early childhood educators and Georgia Pre-K teachers from different corners of the state,” Griffin said.
