CCSD Teacher of the Year Named Top 10 State Finalist!

More than 115,000 educators teach in Georgia’s public schools, and a Cherokee County School District teacher is officially one of the 10 best!

Today, Dr. Lisa Spence, art teacher for Hasty Elementary School Fine Arts Academy, was surprised with the announcement she is a Top 10 finalist for Georgia Teacher of the Year.  Dr. Spence, who is the current CCSD Teacher of the Year, and her fellow state finalists will be honored at a gala celebration in May where the surprise announcement of the overall winner will be made.  Congratulations to Dr. Spence – we’re so proud of her and all she does to ensure our students are learning more, growing more, and achieving more in our classrooms than they could anywhere else!

“We have over 115,000 teachers in the state of Georgia, and we whittled it down to the top 10, so you are the top 1% of the top 1%,” State Superintendent of Schools Richard Woods said, as he announced the news to her classroom of cheering students.

An 17-year educator who has earned numerous regional and national accolades for outstanding teaching, Dr. Spence said she felt “speechless” upon the surprise.  She later shared how grateful she is to represent her fellow educators, especially her fellow fine arts teachers, noting it’s “an incredible honor” to bring greater recognition to arts education.

Her students were eager to speak about Dr. Spence, who is a favorite for her engaging activities and encouraging teaching style.

“I didn’t like art until Dr. Spence,” said fifth-grader Annalise Collier, as she created a personalized portfolio where she will store her spring artwork.  “She shows us how to do it and then we get to do it on our own.”

Classmate Kash Farrar agreed, sharing he loves the “joy and fun” of Dr. Spence’s class.  “You can put your imagination on paper,” he said.  “Dr. Spence taught us that.”

“She has a lot of creativity,” classmate Vicky Ramos Santiago added.  “We do a lot of cool things.”

The “cool things” include amazing art projects that connect with learning across the curriculum and engaging schoolwide events like an art field day.  Dr. Spence’s talent and dedication have led to numerous professional honors including National Art Education Association’s 2025 Southeastern Region Elementary Art Educator, 2023 Georgia Elementary School Art Educator of the Year, and 2022 Crayola Creativity Ambassador.

“She’s a class act,” Principal Dr. Maria Rosario-Regan said, noting one of Dr. Spence’s most recent successes has been establishing a National Elementary Art Honor Society chapter for the school -- the first in the state.  “She’s always looking for opportunities to ensure our students have access to the arts.  She opens the door for students.”

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