Classroom surprises announce finalists for 2023 Teacher of the Year in Muscogee County
The Muscogee County School District 2023 Teacher of the Year will be one of these three finalists:
Charlene Greene, eighth-grade English language arts, Richards Middle School
Tasha Morman, fifth-grade science and social studies, St. Marys Road Magnet Academy
Nicole Radney, second grade, Mathews Elementary School.
The Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation, which runs MCSD’s Teacher of the Year program, announced the news Friday as MEEF board members and MCSD officials made surprise visits to the finalists’ classrooms.
Each year, the staff at every MCSD school is allowed to nominate a teacher for the award. This year’s 55 nominees were announced in February during a ceremony in Legacy Hall at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts.
MEEF’s selection committee, comprising Columbus business and education leaders, evaluated the applications to narrow the field to the 10 semifinalists, announced last month. The committee interviewed the semifinalists to determine the three finalists.
“We were blown away by the work these teachers do,” Josh Reynolds, chairman of the selection committee and the MEEF board, said in a news release. “And, of course, the teachers don’t see it as work; they see it as their mission in life.
“They do whatever it takes to reach their students and teach their students,” he added. “The passion they have for teaching, the love they have for their students and the respect they have for their fellow teachers is inspiring.”
Committee members will observe the finalists teaching in their classrooms to determine the winner, who will be announced during the foundation’s annual gala, May 4 in the Columbus Convention & Trade Center. Tickets no longer are available. The sold-out event is expected to have more than 1,200 in attendance.
From interviews with the Ledger-Enquirer, here are highlights of the reactions from the three finalists after the surprise announcements in their classrooms:
Charlene Greene
“I’m blessed,” Greene said. “I’m blessed, excited, happy. It’s these crazy kids that I love teaching every single day.”
Greene wants to represent MCSD to “put the passion back into education and show how much we love what we do.”
Teachers are often “vilified in the press,” Greene said. “We see a teacher shortage, but there’s a love of education in teaching that we need to get out just as much. You have teachers coming in here day-in and day-out, loving what they do, loving these kids, pouring back into the community.”
Being a teacher, Greene said, allows her to be a “rock star” and a “superhero” for her students.
“We can change lives — the greatest superpower in the world,” she said.
Receiving this honor, Greene said, is the “height of my career. Being able to share it with the kids is awesome.”
Greene has been teaching for 15 years, including that past eight at Richards. She previously taught at Columbus High School (2014-15, North West High School in Clarksville, Tennessee (2013-14), Baldwin (Florida) Junior High School (2012-13) and Wilkinson Junior High School in Middleburg, Florida (1998-2002).
She also has served as a U.S. Army countersignal intelligence officer and as a child and youth services outreach coordinator.
Greene earned an associate’s degree in the arts from St. Johns River Community College in 1995, a bachelor’s degree in English education from the University of North Florida in 1998 and a master’s degree in instruction and curriculum from Austin Peay State University in 2013.
Tasha Morman
Learning she was selected as a finalist, Morman said, is “very overwhelming. I wasn’t expecting all these emotions, but I’m excited. I’m honored.”
She chose to be a teacher, Morman said, “because I want to be able to change lives. I want to be able to impact not just with their education, but they have to go out into this world. … I want to equip them with everything that they need to be successful.”
Morman had a “very, very rough childhood, very tough childhood, where I was told I would never be anything. … It’s a very long story, but it’s worth it. I wouldn’t change anything. Because of my story, I’m able to help others.”
She hopes her students — many growing up in similarly difficult circumstances — will use seeing her receive this honor as further motivation to persevere as well.
“I love being able to share this moment with them because we are proving (naysayers) wrong,” she said. “We can do anything we put our minds to, and we can always be successful, no matter what our past has been.”
Morman is in her fourth year as a teacher, all at St. Marys.
She previously worked as a social worker, case manager, client support worker and substance abuse counselor.
Morman earned a bachelor’s degree in human services management in 2011 and a master’s degree in elementary education in 2015 from the University of Phoenix.
Nicole Radney
The surprise left Radney feeling “a little overwhelmed right now but excited at the same time,” she said. “There are so many teachers in the county that are so well deserved (to be selected), so it’s just — whoooo!”
Radney said she is a teacher because she wants to make a positive impact on her students’ lives.
“I was a foster parent for a while,” she said, “and I realize that there’s a big gap between our community and our students that are in the classroom.”
Her students seeing their teacher receive this honor, Radney said, will “push them to hopefully to become educators too and be great educators as well.”
Radney has been a teacher for eight years, including the past seven at Mathews.
She previously taught at prekindergarten at the Growing Room Childcare Center in Columbus (2015-16).
Radney earned a bachelor’s degree in church ministries from Southeastern University in 2001 and a master’s degree in elementary education from Troy University in 2013.
Selection committee members
Along with Reynolds (TSYS Global Payments), the other selection committee members are Mandy Flynn (Aflac), Gina Smith (Coldwell Banker KPDD), Ty Webb (W.C. Bradley), Sheryl Green (2015 MCSD Teacher of the Year), Rita Ellis (Key 2 Wall Street), Dacia Sheffield (2019 MCSD Teacher of the Year), Lisa Seegar (2021 MCSD Teacher of the Year) and Marquette McKnight (Media, Marketing and More).
MEEF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering educational excellence and honoring teachers who are innovative and exceptionally effective. In its 27-year history, the foundation has awarded more than $3 million to such educators through the Teacher of the Year and Harvard Fellows programs and other grants.
The MCSD Teacher of the Year semifinalists are eligible to become a Harvard Fellow. Since 2012, the foundation has paid for the expenses to send a group of MCSD teachers to Harvard University during the summer for a week of professional development.
