Cobb’s Teachers of the Year were recently the honored guests at one of the biggest salutes to teachers and public education in the nation. The Teacher of the Year Celebration Breakfast is part of the Cobb Chamber’s Give Our Schools a Hand program.

For the past 32 years, the annual program has united the Cobb community to celebrate the finest educators at each school in Marietta City Schools and Cobb County School District.

Community sponsors joined the Cobb Teachers of the Year for the celebration and sent the teachers home with tokens of appreciation for their outstanding service to Cobb students. In addition to a performance from Marietta City, Pebblebrook High School’s Phoenix Ensemble serenaded the teachers with their presentation of “This is Me.”

“You are the MVPs of our one team. We do it better in Cobb because we have the best teachers. We owe everything we see as success in the District to what you do in the classroom each and every day,” Superintendent Chris Ragsdale told the teachers as he thanked them for their service to Cobb students.

Congratulations and thank you to all the Cobb Schools Teachers of the Year.

For four of the honored teachers, the most memorable part of the celebration took place at the end. The three Cobb Teacher of the Year Level winners, along with Marietta City’s TOTY, learned which brand of new car they would be driving for one year, thanks to Ed Voyles Automotive Group. 

Each year, Ed Voyles allows Cobb’s level winners to draw the name of the brand of car they will drive—for free—for the following year. If the District Teacher of the Year goes on to win Georgia Teacher of the Year, Ed Voyles will give the teacher the car to keep forever.  

Now, those top teachers have some shopping to do before they pick up the keys to their new cars at the Cobb Chamber Marquee Monday event on November 8.

The Teachers of the Year who will drive away with a new car include:

•    Dr. Darline Douangvilay, Elementary Teacher of the Year from City View Elementary School

•    Michelle Gottenberg, Middle School Teacher of the Year from Mabry Middle School

•    Beth Foster, District and High School Teacher of the Year from Osborne High School

Ahead of the Celebration Breakfast, the treasured Handprint Unveiling Ceremony honored Cobb and Marietta’s District Teachers of the Year at Marietta Square. Beth Foster, Cobb’s District Teacher of the Year, cemented her place in Cobb history when she unveiled her handprints along the Teacher Walk of Honor at Glover Park.