Rising Stars
Winner’s Archive

Tommy Clay is THE “go to” person for all things in Atlanta Public Schools. He was recently awarded with the Atlanta Public Schools, Schools First Award for the district where he was recognized at the district gala in front of all of his peers. He is passionate about all things STEM, personalized learning, literacy, etc. He leads our district’s eSports competition, our mobile device management, badging in our district, our department YouTube channel, and so much more. He is extremely knowledgeable about everything and is a true pleasure to work with each and every day.

Joy recently completed her Specialist degree in Instructional Technology. I’ve known Joy for ten years and each year she seeks to learn more about new technologies and how they can be used in the classroom. She is an incredible speaker and presenter. She has presented at GaETC for many years. Each year her presentations are well received and full of happy participants. Joy is well deserving of the Rising Stars award.

Mr. Kelley consistently explores creative ways to integrate technology into his teaching methods. He leverages digital tools, interactive platforms, and multimedia resources to enhance not only student engagement and understanding, but also their social/emotional well being. He provides suggestions and assistance to his colleagues to expand the reach of his ideas and initiatives.

Ashley is young in her career and has already grown in several areas. She first taught elementary school in a traditional setting and was then chosen to teach a selective program called Paulding Virtual Academy, where I met her as her Instructional Technology Coach. She impressed me so much as a teacher that I was one of her references where our district hired its own coaches, and we are now colleagues. She is the definition of innovation, integration and inspiration.

Walk into her media center and you hear the hum of the 3D printer, the smell of wood burning on the Glowforge, and the chatter of children working collaboratively on projects like cardboard challenges.

Lauren Cramer goes above and beyond every day to continually grow as an educator. She is a fifth year teacher who did not start teaching on the traditional teaching route.

As a subject area leader for her school, she provides professional development for her team during their meetings helping add to their collective teacher efficacy.

Not only does Amanda have extensive content knowledge, she is a teacher that creates authentic learning experiences for her students each day.

Suzy demonstrates exceptional growth in the field of instructional technology by continually looking for certification, coaching, and training opportunities.

Kristen seeks out opportunities to learn and present to others. She inspires our staff and is patient to help them learn new tools for technology integration.

Erin has been an amazing teacher for many years and now she is such an incredible mentor to our teachers. She creates opportunities for our elementary school to collaborate with other elementary schools along with the high school and middle school in our cluster.

Christie is a shining example of how technology should be integrated into the classroom for effective instructional purposes. She uses the technology to provide inquiry opportunities for students as well as ways in which students can demonstrate their mastery of content taught.

Amy Hudson has her students use technology like artists use paint and canvas. Students analyze, evaluate, and synthesize with technology they never consume!