2027 Gwinnett County Teacher of the Year: Gwinnett selects semifinalists for district’s top honor

The educator named 2027 district TOTY will officially serve from July 2026 - June 2027 and will apply to be the state TOTY in the fall of 2026.

     The group of teachers aspiring to become the 2027 Gwinnett County Teacher of the Year just got smaller as Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) announced the names of the 25 semifinalists to be considered for the system’s top honor. The group of elementary, middle, and high school teachers was selected from the initial list of 141 local school Teachers of the Year who were nominated by their colleagues at their local schools. On January 29, at 6:30 p.m., GCPS will host a banquet celebration honoring all local school teachers and naming the top teacher in Gwinnett County.

This year’s Gwinnett County Teacher of the Year semifinalists are:

• Baggett Elementary School, Marquiesha Pless Morris, 2nd Grade Teacher
• Bay Creek Middle School, Rachel P. Turner, Chorus Teacher (Grades 6-8)
• Benefield Elementary School, Christine Marie Kennedy, 1st Grade Teacher
• Berkmar Middle School, Kelly Rollocks, Visual Arts Teacher (Grades 6-8)
• Bethesda Elementary School, Tram Nguyen, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies Teacher (Grade 5)
• Brookwood High School, Kelly Swanson, Advanced Placement Psychology Teacher (Grades 11-12)
• Burnette Elementary School, Stephanie Guynn, 3rd Grade Teacher
• Central Gwinnett High School, Amanda Baker, Health Occupations Teacher (Grades 9-12)
• Couch Middle School, Kysha D. Owens, Mathematics and Enhanced Algebra Teacher (Grade 8)
• Five Forks Middle School, Dr. Stephanie Birmingham, Art Teacher (Grades 6-8)
• GIVE Center East, Dr. Candice Richardson, Biology Teacher (Grade 9)
• Head Elementary School, Kelly Mraz, Music Teacher (Grades K-5)
• Jackson Elementary School, Audrey Massey, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Teacher (Grades K-5)
• Jones Middle School, Mari-Grace Parillo White, Mathematics Teacher (Grade 6)
• McClure Health Science High School, Savannah Guzmán, Visual Arts Teacher (Grades 9-12)
• Mill Creek High School, Leah Hester, Spanish Teacher (Grades 9-12)
• Osborne Middle School, Becky Vandett, Accelerated Mathematics Teacher (Grade 6)
• Paul Duke STEM High School, Batavia Sumlin, Computer Science and Game Design Teacher (Grades 9-12)
• Phoenix High School, Cindy Quinlan, Entrepreneurship and Work Based Learning Teacher (Grades 9-12)
• Radloff Middle School, Dr. Lisa Babbage, Social Studies Teacher (Grade 8)
• Shiloh High School, Rita Preuss McGill, Language Arts and Spanish Teacher (Grades 10-12)
• Snellville Middle School, Mokota Turner, Band and General Music Teacher (Grades 6-8)
• South Gwinnett High School, Jimmesse A. Marshall, Algebra: Concepts & Connections Teacher (Grades 9-12)
• Summerour Middle School, Laura Fey White, Physical Science Teacher (Grade 8)
• Twin Rivers Middle School, Austin Hannon, Chorus Teacher (Grades 6-8)