On Tuesday, October 29, 2019, in a reception hosted by the Savannah Morning News, teachers were on hand to represent their school in the 2021 Teacher of the Year program. This year’s applications were reviewed by a panel of school district personnel and community members who had the difficult task of narrowing down the top finalists.

During the reception the top five finalists were announced by the current Teacher of the Year, Kathy Whitney of Garrison School for the Arts. Each will now move to district level competition to participate in a month long judging process that includes classroom observations and panel interviews. The finalists include: Stephanie Lash of the STEM Academy at Bartlett, Cherie Dennie  of Hesse K-8 School, Jessica Roberts of Windsor Forest Elementary School, Daivd Westbrook of Jenkins High School and Dr. LaKeindra Byno of Windsor Forest High School.

One of these individuals will be named the 2021 District Teacher of the Year and participate in state-level competition. The full list of the 2021 Teacher of the Year representatives includes: 

Kristen LeClair - Beach High School

Shelley Willis - Bloomingdale Elementary School

Desma Patterson - Brock Elementary School

Jessica Johnson - Building Bridges Middle School Academy

Vanaja Vijayaraghavan - Building Bridges High School Academy

Stephanie Tobgo - Butler Elementary School

Brooks Barbaree - Coastal Georgia Comprehensive Academy

Sarah Harper - Coastal Middle School

Jenene Brown - DeRenne Middle School

Courtney Zideo - Early Learning Center at Formey School

Wonda Goodwin - Charles Ellis Montessori Academy

Angela Robinson - Gadsden Elementary School

Robin Brown - Garden City Elementary School

Melanie Hoffman - Garrison School for the Arts

Douglas McGarity - Georgetown K8 School

Elvana Salas - Godley Station K8 School

Takisha Knowles - Gould Elementary School

Kristen Arnott - Groves High School

Brandi Carter - Haven Elementary School

Lindsey Rodriguez - Heard Elementary School

Cherie Dennis - Hesse K8 School

Mary-Elise Ulin - Hodge Elementary School

Beth Parsons - Howard Elementary School

Pamela Daniels - Hubert Middle School

Jessica Cameron - Islands High School

Beth Ronning - Isle of Hope K8 School

Sunny Chadwell - J.G. Smith Elementary School

David Westbrook - Jenkins High School

Terry Kiser - Johnson High School

Toni West - Largo-Tibet Elementary School

Ronica Williams - School of Humanities at Juliette Gordon Low Elementary

Renee Nelson - Marshpoint Elementary School

Mark Greene - Mercer Middle School

Meghan Humphrey - Myers Middle School

Virginia Highsmith - New Hampstead High School

Ben Wells - Oglethorpe Charter School

Teresa Baker - Pooler Elementary School

Telisa Clark - Port Wentworth Elementary School

Amy Williams - Pulaski Elementary School

Dyshatari Mikell - Rice Creek School

Jeff Fortson - Savannah Arts Academy

Janet McCray - Savannah Early College High School

Lorraine Bowers - School of Liberal Studies at Savannah High

Nakisha Poteau - Shuman Elementary School

Courtney Richmond - Southwest Elementary School

Porschia Mitchell - Southwest Middle School

Stephanie Lash - STEM Academy at Bartlett

Torey Connelly - Tybee Maritime Academy

Heather Gonsalves - West Chatham Elementary School

Chiquisha Tomlin-Williams - West Chatham Middle School

Katrina Wilcox - White Bluff Elementary School

Shanna Musbau - A.B. Williams Elementary School

Jessica Roberts - Windsor Forest Elementary School

Dr. LaKeindra Byno - Windsor Forest High School

Janelle Partap-Richardson - Woodville Tompkins High School