For three Rockdale County Public Schools teachers, the morning of Oct. 13 was full of pleasant surprises as they were named finalists for the county's Teacher of the Year.

 

One by one, the teachers were caught mid-lesson, mid-sentence and off-guard as school officials, administrators and Superintendent Dr. Samuel King streamed into their classrooms to recognize them as finalists.

 

Rockdale Magnet School environmental sciences teacher Susan Gary accepted the hugs of congratulations with shaking hands and said the honor left her speechless, which didn't happen very often.

 

Caroline Ingle, a ninth grade teacher at Heritage High School and who runs the state’s Project Success program at Heritage, said she was completely caught off guard and had even dressed up for “Tacky Day” as part of the school’s spirit week. 

 

“So I’m wearing this,” she said motioning to her bright blue dress and matching bandana, “and I’m looking like this with blue eye shadow, and Dr. King and the whole cabinet comes in, and I’m thinking, ‘I am a hot mess today!’”

 

At Hightower Elementary, Gretchen Gault was in the middle of an economics lesson with her fourth grade class when the lights were suddenly turned back on and officials came in with an armful of flowers. Unbeknownst to her, a few of her students had been planted with video cameras to capture the moment of shock and emotion. Gault said she had spent 17 years out of her 18-year teaching career at Hightower Elementary because of the family and group-oriented atmosphere.

 

The winner of the county's Teacher of the Year distinction will not be announced until the ceremony in December — a slight change from previous years — and each teacher and each teacher's principal will have to prepare an acceptance speech ahead of time.