Alumna named 2025 Georgia Teacher of the Year

Holly Stamer Witcher, ’01, a special education teacher at Tesnatee Gap Elementary School in White County, is the 2025 Georgia Teacher of the Year. The recent announcement was made at a banquet held to honor all district teachers of the year. 

Witcher works with students who have been diagnosed with significant developmental delays.

 “My primary challenge is to teach them how to communicate,” Witcher said. “Everything I do in the classroom revolves around helping them show what they know and teaching them how they can express what they know and what they need.”

She is a 23-year teaching veteran who was named Teacher of the Year in a Rockdale County School in 2006, along with White County District Teacher of the Year in 2023.

Witcher holds a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education from Georgia College & State University and a master’s from the American College of Education.

“Holly Witcher is a shining example of our mission of preparing all students for life,” Georgia’s School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “I’m inspired by the way she equips her students to live positive, productive lives and helps them connect to their community. She will be a phenomenal advocate for public education over the next year, just as she’s been for her students in White County.”