Down Sandy Plains Road, nestled in a school that has been part of the community for more than five decades, Cobb students experiment with growing plants in Martian soil—work that has twice won international awards. 

Dr. Hannah Oldham is the veteran educator behind the Sprayberry High School students winning the global Plant Mars Challenge. 

Dr. Oldham teaches mathematics and AP Capstone courses and leads Sprayberry’s STEM Academy. Under her guidance, Sprayberry students have won the Plant Mars Challenge, an international competition in which students research, design, and conduct experiments to help NASA scientists and the academic community learn how to grow the best crops in Martian soil. 

Recognizing Dr. Oldham’s commitment to STEM education, the renowned Sprayberry educator was recently named STEM Teacher of the Year for the East Georgia Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) Chapter and for the State of Georgia. 

According to the AFA, STEM teachers like Dr. Oldham “shape the future of our nation, introducing students to exciting new concepts and offering a glimpse into what is possible. The very best educators transform learning into a boundless adventure and prepare their classes to explore new frontiers of technology for the good of us all.” 

“It's very humbling, and it's very exciting [to receive the STEM award] and be able to share it with my students because they’re the reason I show up every day, and they’re the reason I have this award. They're the reason why I want to bring NASA and the stars into the classroom,” Dr. Oldham shared. 

The Cobb Schools Board of Education and Superintendent Chris Ragsdale recently congratulated Dr. Oldham for her achievement as STEM Teacher of the Year. Dr. Oldham also joined her Sprayberry colleagues when Sprayberry was recognized for earning Cobb STEM Certification. 

“I absolutely love Stem here in Cobb, and I feel so supported about what we can do here,” added the Sprayberry educator. 

Dr. Oldham’s career as an educator in Cobb spans 17 years, but her dreams of becoming a teacher started many years before. 

“I've always been meant to be a teacher,” Dr. Oldham said. 

Although being a teacher may have always been her goal, helping students grow plants in Martian soil or learning algebra was not. 

Dr. Oldham originally wanted to be a music teacher and then a history teacher. 

“I fell into math,” she confessed. 

According to the award-winning teacher, she was “bad at math” and really had to work at it. Her personal math struggles, however, strengthened Dr. Oldham’s skills as an educator. 

“It has made me a really good math teacher because I've always had to just figure it out. It didn't come naturally. So, it makes it easy for my students when they don't understand something. I can be like, ‘yeah, I didn't understand it either,’” the beloved Sprayberry educator explained. 

According to Dr. Oldham, part of STEM education is teaching students that it is okay to fail because that’s where the real science and learning happens. She shares her own struggles and confesses to her students that she has failed so many times. However, because she kept trying and never gave up, she now has a doctorate and, of course, the latest accolade—STEM Teacher of the Year. 

“She's a teacher that can really see right through you. She can see things that you can't see yourself,” declared Sprayberry senior Anya, who has learned from Dr. Oldham for the past 3 years. 

Dr. Oldham helps students discover their personal strengths, whether in math, writing, or something they never dreamed possible. 

Before stepping into Dr. Oldham’s class, Anya never thought of or had any interest in pursuing a Ph.D. After learning about her teacher’s accomplishments, the Sprayberry senior feels inspired to pursue her own doctorate. 

“I can shoot for the stars, and I know that I'll land,” Anya said. “I want to have my own thesis, and I want to be able to do as much in-depth research and be able to show it to people like she did.” 

For Anya, Dr. Oldham is more than a teacher; she is her mentor. 

“She's amazing, and I hope everyone can see that,” Anya said. 

Fellow Sprayberry senior Nate knows why Dr. Oldham has so much success encouraging students. Just sit in one of her classes, and you will discover it too, Nate advises. 

“She has so much charisma. You can really feel that in the classroom. “The energy that she really exhibits, you can feel it, and it helps you learn like no other classroom. On a day-to-day basis, it really helps with all of the learning,” Nate explained. 

One of the best, that’s how Nate describes his teacher of 4 years. Without Dr. Oldham’s help, Nate would not have been able to accomplish his goal of starting a match club to inspire mathematics in youth. 

Thanks to Dr. Oldham’s mentorship, Nate is confident he can keep breaking barriers to his goals. 

“She's really inspired me to not take no for an answer and just to keep moving forward,” Nate declared. 

No matter where their path takes them, Dr. Oldham wants her students to be prepared for success and to carry the same passion for learning they gained in her class. 

“It’s not just about the facts or numbers or that they can memorize periodic tables. It's that they have the confidence and experience to want to explore new things,” shared the STEM Teacher of the Year.