Knox County Schools names its 200 top teachers, honors the Teachers of the Year
Knox County Schools honored nearly 200 of its top educators at the annual Teacher of the Year banquet on Feb. 25.
Teachers representing each school attended the event at the Knoxville Convention Center, and winners were recognized for each grade grouping, according to a KCS news release.
Recipients were nominated by their peers and selected using the Tennessee Department of Education's guidelines for Teacher of the Year.
Districtwide winners are:
PreK-fourth grade: Ellen Monroe, a speech-language therapist at Inskip Elementary School. Monroe begins her sessions with positive affirmations for students, according to a video the district released.
Grades 5-8: Emily Butterfield, an eighth-grade science teacher at Bearden Middle School. Butterfield said in a video she focuses on "progress, not perfection" in her science classes.
Grades 9-12: Keith Leonard, an English language arts teacher at Fulton High School. Leonard co-founded Fulton's comic and manga club, and now teaches a genre literature course using comic books and graphic novels as a teaching tool, according to a video from the district.
Here is a full list of all winners from around the district, by region and school:
A.L. Lotts Elementary: Monet Crow, Megan Edman, Sherin Linsley
Bearden Elementary: Diane Boles
Blue Grass Elementary: Hillary Hudson
Farragut Intermediate: Sarah Campbell, Stephanie Ott, Cody Sipe
Farragut Primary: Tracy Best, Laura Proffitt, Amy Stackhouse
Northshore Elementary: Carol Giles, Courtney Maynard, Sarah Michalowski
Pond Gap Elementary: Emily Abeles
Rocky Hill Elementary: Samantha Quintero Forstrom, Claire Williams
Sequoyah Elementary: Ashton McNabb
West Hills Elementary: Ashley Flemming, Nicole Wells, Lindsey Kirkpatrick
Bearden Middle: Emily Butterfield, Chase Finley, Taylor Lagan, Savannah Prator
Farragut Middle: Trudy Hopper, Susan Kirt, Hannah Richardson, Marianne Voiles
West Valley Middle: Nicole Alberts, Jody Murphy, Emily Roskop
Bearden High: Colleen Barnett, Kelly Beason, Anne Marie Fine, Anna Saeli, Tim Vacek
Farragut High: Titus Arthur, Angela Breeding, Keely Chamberlain, Al Fontenot , Mitchell Moore, Kristi Ramsey
West High: Kathleen Colbert, Ember Lundy, Dustin Lyles, Dani Sorrells, Jennifer Ufnar
Amherst Elementary: Stacie Dougherty, Nyla Hopwood
Ball Camp Elementary: Robyn Bayne
Cedar Bluff Elementary: Angela Childers, Kelly Schippers, Jennie Williams
Hardin Valley Elementary: Chelsea Gillis, Ashley Moore, Deirdre Kopp Pokrzywa
Karns Elementary: Lori Ford, Meg Grover, Carly Norman, Jaime Woolman
Knox County Virtual: Lindsey L. Cope, Jordan Edwards
Mill Creek Elementary: Emily Human, Gretchen McCord
Norwood Elementary: Diana Noel
Pleasant Ridge Elementary: Kim Dodson
Powell Elementary: Beth Antone, Terry Wright
West Haven Elementary: Jordan Barrow
Cedar Bluff Middle: Abigail Hatala, Kathleen Smith
Hardin Valley Middle: Amy Fields Caldwell, Amy Parisi, Alice Williams
Karns Middle: Natalie Griffey, Lindy McCollam, Stephanie Morse
Northwest Middle: Nicole Duke, Katie Erb, Justin McConnell
Powell Middle: Patrick Davis, Kim Longmire
Hardin Valley Academy: Logan Atwell, Tracey Davis, Rebecca Furman, Laura L. Shands, John Sides, Kayla Webster
Karns High: Phillip Beeler, Paula Kenney, Shawn Knapp, Melissa Mink , Kelli Ochsenbein
Powell High: Diane Carcello, Brittney Franse, Terry Lawlor, Pam Parker
Bonny Kate Elementary: Heather Davenport, Laura Snapp
Carter Elementary: Lindsey Harrell, Melina McMahan
Chilhowee Intermediate: Britney McCarter
Dogwood Elementary: Lisa Brown, Catherine G. Maples
East Knox County Elementary: Abigail Coffey, Beverly Morton
Gap Creek Elementary: Tina Whitehead
Mooreland Heights Elementary: Jenny Holt
Mount Olive Elementary: Stacy Davis
New Hopewell Elementary: Jennifer Willoughby
Newcomer Academy: Clayton Kennedy
South Knoxville Elementary: Jennifer Bowes
Sunnyview Primary: Hannah Robinson
Carter Middle: Annie Hamby, Rachel Morris
South-Doyle Middle: Alfredo Acosta III, Lisa Ison, Paul Smith
Career Magnet Academy: Jamie Clement Scott
Carter High: Scott Bray, Casey A. Brooks, Julianna Chun
L&N STEM Academy: Sarah Elliott
Paul Kelley Volunteer Academy: Melvin Hopewell
South-Doyle High: Emily Frei, Daniel Owen, Susan Reynolds
Adrian Burnett Elementary: Andrew Crowe, Rebecca Petroskey
Brickey-McCloud Elementary: Kayla Jadwin, Amy Renfro, Tracey Walker
Copper Ridge Elementary: Paula Holland, Carla Wilkerson
Corryton Elementary: Erin Gray
Fountain City Elementary: Brigitte McMillan Stair
Gibbs Elementary: Hope Allen, Ronna Gregory, Deborah Hensley
Halls Elementary: Brittney Ogle, Frances York
Inskip Elementary: Cynthia Marvel, Ellen Monroe
Ritta Elementary: Taylor Duncan, Susan Jordan Gilliam
Shannondale Elementary: Julie Sebastian
Sterchi Elementary: Chris Burgess
Gibbs Middle: Brianne Roberts, Bethany Sharp
Gresham Middle: Jere Carman, Bryan Paschal , Sonya Williams
Halls Middle: Joanne Dean, Katie Fine, Paul A. Ramos
K.A.E.C.: Mary C. Lancaster
Ridgedale School: Renee C. Kaisare, Kate Uzubell
Richard Yoakley School: Tracy Eaton
Central High: Tracy D. Kelly, Tracy Pace, Carrie Whaley
Gibbs High: Laura Beal, Melissa Graves, Aaron Large
Halls High: Jim McPhetridge, Erika Neely, Trina Polston
Beaumont Magnet Academy: Hannah Bond, Erin Dunleavy
Belle Morris Elementary: Kelsey Cupp, Earlene Romero
Christenberry Elementary: Karleigh Brockman, Ashley Lynch
Green Magnet Academy: Cara Kirkland
Lonsdale Elementary: Cassandra Altuzar Jamison, Porscha Juanita Settlemyer
Maynard Elementary: Michael A. Rodgers
Sarah Moore Greene Magnet: Natalie Andrews, Antwan Avant Jr., Melanie Ratliff
Spring Hill Elementary: Kimberly Fischer, Wil Turner
Holston Middle: Mary Bee, Karen M. Pallesen
Vine Middle Magnet: Jessica L. Huffaker, Reid L. Jackson
Whittle Springs Middle: Dennis L. Groenke Jr., Marc Anthony Ross
Austin-East Magnet High: Annabelle Barto, Mahongony Chambers, Kara Gourley
Fulton High: Katie Burdette, Keith Wayne Leonard, Beth Nelson, Kimberly Young-Forster
Cedar Bluff Preschool: Jo Parker Lynch
Fair Garden Family Center: Angie Hamstead
Fort Sanders Educational Development Center: Courtney Luttrell
Karns Preschool: Renee R. Sellers
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knox County Schools honors its 2025 Teachers of the Year
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