Story by Amanda Respess, Video by Chris Brown 

T he John H. Lounsbury College of Education has produced three of Georgia's last five Teachers of the Year, as well as the current Georgia Superintendent of the Year, Dr. Marc Feuerbach (’10). Feuerbach is the superintendent of Cartersville City Schools. 

At the end of May, the Georgia Department of Education announced the 2027 Georgia Teacher of the Year is alumna Charm Mapp (’03, ’06, ’10), an eighth-grade math teacher and lead teacher of the Gifted Program at Clifton Ridge Middle School in Jones County. The three-time alumna is currently pursuing her fourth degree from GCSU – a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction. 

Alumna Holly Starmer Witcher (’01) was the 2025 Georgia Teacher of the Year. Witcher returned to GCSU in May as the keynote speaker for the College of Education spring commencement ceremony. Witcher is an educator for White County Public Schools. 

GCSU’s recent run of Teachers of the Year began with alumnus Michael Kobito (’22), the 2023 Georgia Teacher of the Year. Kobito is a music educator in Bartow County, Georgia. 

INSERT Quote from Dr. Loleta Sartin.