And the winner of the Muscogee County 2023 Teacher of the Year award is . . .

Tasha Morman, a fifth-grade science and social studies teacher at St. Marys Road Magnet Academy, is the Muscogee County School District 2023 Teacher of the Year.

The Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation, which conducts MCSD’s Teacher of the Year program, announced the winner Thursday night during its annual gala, attended by a sellout crowd of more than 1,100 people in the Columbus Convention & Trade Center.

Each year, the staff of every MCSD school nominates 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 in March.

The committee interviewed the semifinalists to determine the three finalists, announced in April as MEEF and MCSD officials made surprise classroom visits.

Then, to determine the winner, committee members observed the finalists teaching a lesson.

Why the committee selected Tasha Morman

Committee chairman Josh Reynolds of TSYS/Global Payments said Morman impressed the committee with her connection to her students and her commitment to helping them make a positive impact in their community.

“The students were engaged and excited to participate in the lesson she was teaching,” he said in MEEF’s news release. “You could tell that she has the trust and respect of each student.”

Morman explained that connection and commitment to her students when she wrote in her application about how she understands what her students need, even when they don’t tell her.

“I pay attention to their nonverbal cues, any shifts in their conduct, and the data,” she wrote. “Most of my senses serve as indicators for a shift in my teaching. I see their eyes when they are confused as well as when they are confident. I hear the sigh because everyone else is getting it, but that one student is trying their best and still can’t.

“I can smell the shame and frustration of the student who cannot concentrate because he knows the other students can smell his body odor but does not want to go in the hygiene basket in my closet,” she continued. “I can feel the fear of the student that still has stage fright and does not raise her hand because she cannot read as well as everyone else.”

Selection committee member Dacia Sheffield, the 2019 MCSD Teacher of the Year, described Morman as a “passionate teacher who put each student and their needs at the core of each lesson. She works to ensure each student connects to the lesson and understands the outcomes needed, even shifting how she teaches to ensure that happens.”

Acceptance speech

In her acceptance speech Thursday night, Morman called winning the award “an amazing honor.”

It’s the culmination of all the support she has received in her life, Morman said. She thanked her colleagues, family, friends and the foundation.

Her fellow teachers, Morman said, “feel as though as their data defines them, who sometimes feel as though the weight of the world is on their shoulders. … Remember: We are better than we think and not quite who we want to be. We are change agents. … We dream of a better tomorrow. Tomorrow starts today.”

Among the various roles teachers play in the lives of their students, Morman listed mentor, coach, leader, social worker, doctor, detective and referee.

Morman seeks to uplift all her students and their families, especially those “who have yet to be fully embraced by our education system and are passed along or left behind, lacking the tools needed because of their behavior, when in reality it’s just a cry for help.”

For the students who are marginalized, face obstacles or learn or think differently, Morman said, educators must see their humanity.

“We can be the bridges,” she said.

In fact, Morman said, when she suffered through family crises during her childhood — and when she “wanted to make it all end” — teachers didn’t allow her to give up on herself.

“I’m a living example that your sleepless nights, your hard work, adjusted lesson plans and super-long professional development are not in vain,” she said.

Morman declared, “Education is powerful when teachers teach with all their heart and never give up on their students or their families.”

Background about Tasha Morman

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. She earned a bachelor’s degree in human services management in 2011 and a master’s degree in elementary education in 2015, both from the University of Phoenix.

In addition to her teaching duties, Morman is the fifth-grade level chair, the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports coach and a school improvement committee member at St. Marys.

Her community involvement includes serving as vice president for the local Zeta Phi Beta Sorority chapter and as a teens ministry mentor for her church, Faith Chapel.

After she was selected as a finalist last month, Morman told the Ledger-Enquirer that she is a teacher “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.”

Also when she became a finalist, Morman said she hopes students — many growing up in similarly difficult circumstances — will use seeing her receive such an 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.”

How the nominees were honored

At the gala, each nominee received a framed certificate of recognition and $100. The 10 semifinalists received $500. The three finalists received $1,000. The winner received $5,000 and will be featured on an Outfront Media digital billboard and in a full-page ad in the Ledger-Enquirer.

The other finalists were Charlene Greene, an eighth-grade English language arts teacher at Richards Middle School, and Nicole Radney, a second-grade teacher at Mathews Elementary School.

The other semifinalists were:

Kacey Brown, Eagle Ridge Academy, English for Speakers of Other Languages Tori Culverhouse, Clubview Elementary School, third grade Claudia Curbelo, Veterans Memorial Middle School, math and Spanish Josh Evans, Double Churches Middle School, band Jamisha Harrison, Dorothy Height Elementary School, kindergarten Nick Jones, Hannan Magnet Academy, third grade Tricia Willis, Columbus High School, humanities.

Along with Reynolds (TSYS Global Payments), the other selection committee members were 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.