COVINGTON, Ga. — Eastside High School's DeAnna O’Brien was named Newton County School System's 2022 Teacher of the Year Thursday, Sept. 30.
O'Brien was chosen from among three finalists who also included Samantha Greco of West Newton Elementary School and Clayton Hammonds of Veterans Memorial Middle School.
O'Brien, a special education teacher at Eastside, praised the other school-level Teachers of the Year and said the chance to represent them was "incredible."
"And the 23 of us sitting up here, that is what we do each and every day," O'Brien said.
"We make their disabilities disappear and their abilities appear so that when they walk out into your world and into our community they can do whatever they dream possible," she said.
She said she was happy with the recognition she had been given for being a school-level winner because it showed that her colleagues "noticed" her students — most of whom are disabled in some way.
"What touched me the most when my colleagues voted for me to represent Eastside High School, and what it meant to me, was that they noticed my kids," she said.
"My students who have had disabilities their entire life who often sometimes will go unnoticed — they noticed my kids. Not only did they notice them but they noticed how amazing they are," O'Brien said.
She also said her award was actually for "Team of the Year" because two paraprofessionals who assist her, Maria Hardeman and Sande Jackson, "walk beside me each and every day, every step of the way."
"I cannot do my job without them," she said.
The Eastside teacher received a crystal award and check for $1,000 from the Chamber of Commerce; and a check for $500 from Covington Ford.
She will now move on to represent Newton County Schools in the Georgia Teacher of the Year competition.
The two runners-up each received crystal awards from the Newton County Chamber of Commerce.
All 23 Teachers of the Year were recognized and presented with commemorative plaques from the Coca-Cola Bottling Co.
O'Brien previously taught in both the Morgan County and Rockdale County school systems. She also taught hospital bound patients with traumatic brain injuries at Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital.
She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education from Georgia Southern University in 1995 and is currently working on her Master’s in Education degree from the same institution.
A panel of five judges chose the winner after interviewing each of the 23 school-level Teachers of the Year and reading essays submitted by them.
After the three finalists were selected, the Teacher of the Year selection committee watched each finalist teach in their classrooms on Sept. 21. The person with the highest combined score on the essay, interview and observation was named the winner.
Greco, a fifth-grade teacher at West Newton, began her career as a teacher at West Newton in 2007 and has taught fourth and fifth grades at the school.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from the Defense Language Institute in 1998 and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biblical Education from Beaulah Heights University in 2007; and holds a gifted endorsement.
Hammonds, a sixth-grade science teacher at Veterans, joined the Newton County School System team in 2018 at the same school. He previously taught at Valdosta Middle School for one year.
He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Middle Grades Education from Valdosta State University in 2017 and his Master in Education degree from Walden University in 2019. He is on track to earn his Education Specialist in Teacher Leadership from Thomas University in 2023.
O'Brien is the first Newton County Teacher of the Year chosen in two years after the 2021 award was not given because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The last one chosen, 2020 Teacher of the Year Shannon Price of Flint Hill Elementary School, was a member of the committee that chose this year's winning teacher.
Price told the school-level Teachers of the Year winners that each had each been a "lighthouse" to their students during the "storm we didn't see coming" — the pandemic.
"Thank you for being that beacon of light for your students," she said.
Superintendent Samantha Fuhrey said the teachers — many of whom taught their students virtually during the pandemic — had been "resilient" and "made it work for their students" during the past 18 months.
School-level teachers of the year recognized on the stage included:
• East Newton Elementary: Beth Rogers
• Fairview Elementary: Kathy Nadeau
• Flint Hill Elementary: Blair Hamby
• Heard-Mixon Elementary: Nicole Roberts
• Live Oak Elementary: Stephanie Muhammad
• Livingston Elementary: Kristin Carter
• Mansfield Elementary: Gina McDonald
• Middle Ridge Elementary: Ebony Bryant
• Newton County Theme School: Marquita Corbett
• Oak Hill Elementary: Marissa Biglow
• Porterdale Elementary: Thecla James
• Rocky Plains Elementary: Alaina Khan
• South Salem Elementary: Renee Anderson
• West Newton Elementary: Samantha Greco
• Clements Middle: Monica Jackson
• Cousins Middle: Emily Lumpkin
• Indian Creek Middle: Charnese Phillips
• Liberty Middle: Teraye Law
• Veterans Memorial Middle: Clayton Hammonds
• Alcovy High: Miranda Lamb
• Eastside High: DeAnna O’Brien
• Newton High: Stephen Foster
• Newton College & Career Academy: Roberta Axson
Supporters of Newton County’s Teacher of the Year program included Newton County Chamber of Commerce's Chamber Champions, sponsors of the 2022 Teacher of the Year program; and The Covington News; Abbey Hospice; AT&T; BB&T; Beaver Manufacturing; Bridgestone Golf; BD; City of Covington; Covington Ford; Facebook; General Mills; GPTC; Ginn Motor Company; High Priority Plumbing; MAU; Newton County Government; Newton Federal Bank; Newton County Water & Sewer; Nisshinbo Automotive; Northside; Oxford College; Piedmont Newton; Pinnacle Bank; Qualified Staffing; SKC, Inc.; Snapping Shoals EMC; SteelCo; Sunbelt Builders, Inc.; Synovus; Takeda; Tread Technologies (Michelin); United Bank of Covington; The Center; Newton College & Career Academy; Edgar Law Firm; and Newton County Industrial Development Authority.
