When my co-teacher, Brittani Dugger, and I decided on a cactus theme in our classroom this year, our motto became, “Stick it out when things get prickly!” Only God knew how relevant that would become.

My goal this year as the Gwinnett County Public Schools Teacher of the Year has been to elevate the dignity of our profession, but that has been accomplished by the response of my colleagues’ innovative efforts with Digital Learning during this COVID-19 crisis. While the past two weeks were incredibly challenging, I’ve been so proud of my colleagues who have had to deal with their own family lives and also change everything overnight.