MNPS honored its very best teachers, principals, and support employees Monday night at a celebratory dinner with awards, photos, music, and gifts.
More than 130 building-level Teacher of the Year winners, along with Support Employee of the Year and Principal of the Year finalists, gathered at Music City Center with their family members, principals, and district leaders for the event.
Superintendent Dr. Adrienne Battle praised the award recipients for helping make Nashville’s public schools “not just places of learning, but places of hope, growth, and possibility.”
“Our honorees represent the excellence that lives across all of Metro Nashville Public Schools. You innovate, you inspire, and you push us forward,” Battle said. “What you do every day – fiercely and consistently – shapes the future of Nashville. You are building the next generation of creators, leaders, dreamers, and problem-solvers who will define what this city becomes.”
MNPS Teacher of the Year
Erinn McGee, who teaches English Language Arts to third graders at John B. Whitsitt Elementary School, was named the overall MNPS Teacher of the Year. Along with other gifts, McGee will receive a complimentary night at the J.W. Marriott Nashville with free breakfast and parking.
Teacher of the Year Finalists
The other eight finalists for 2025-26 Teacher of the Year were:
Elementary School Teachers
Katie Traxler, Gateway Elementary
Crisma Carter, Shwab Elementary
Middle School Teachers
Kevin Stevens, Head Middle
Janiah Sandifer, Jere Baxter Middle
Lisa Quinn, Meigs Middle
High School Teachers
Hank Cardwell, Glencliff High School
John Skinner, Hume-Fogg High School
Ellie Drennan, John Overton High School
Support Employees of the Year:
The district also celebrated its Support Employees of the Year:
Kristopher Summa, Advocacy Coach,
Dan Mills Elementary
Kevin Boston, Paraprofessional,
Goodlettsville Middle
Jackie Taylor, Purchasing Manager, Procurement
Principal of the Year
Dr. Frederick Hewitt, principal of DuPont Tyler Middle School, was named the district’s overall Principal of the Year as well as Middle School Principal of the Year.
MNPS also named a Principal of the Year for each of the other tiers:
Cheryl Bowman, Shwab Elementary
Dr. Michael Pratt,
Stratford STEM Magnet High School
The other finalists for Principal of the Year were:
Elementary School Principals
Chad Hedgepath, Cole Elementary
Ashley Jackson, Gateway Elementary
Middle School Principals
Stephanie Adams, Apollo Middle
Dr. Sharada Deaton, Wright Middle
High School Principals
Myra Taylor, East Nashville Magnet High School
Myron Franklin, Johnson Alternative Learning Center
As an extra show of appreciation, the district and event sponsors gave each Teacher of the Year recipient a “swag bag” containing an MNPS-branded computer backpack, an MNPS-branded Bluetooth speaker, an MNPS-branded journal book, and a special gift from Trevecca Nazarene University.
The Frist Art Museum, the National Museum of African American Music, Hattie B’s, Chick Fil A, Cornerstone Financial, and Nashville Soccer Club also donated guest vouchers, merchandise, gift cards, special recognition at events, and other gifts for building-level and/or district-level winners.
Teachers of the Year by Tier
Elementary
A .Z. Kelley Elementary: Samuel Cummins
Alex Green Elementary: Dawn Swift
Amqui K-8 School: Christian Williams
Andrew Jackson Elementary: May Beasley
Bellshire Elementary: Martha Littles
Cambridge Early Learning Center: Patricia Plemmons
Cane Ridge Elementary: Samantha Martinez
Carter-Lawrence Elementary: Yolanda Cornelius
Casa Azafrán Early Learning Center: Stephanie Kirby
Chadwell Elementary: Kimberly Stevens
Charlotte Park Elementary: Emily Whittemore
Cockrill Elementary: Amber Walsh
Cole Elementary: Carleen Stephenson
Cora Howe School: Jacquelyn Day
Crieve Hall Elementary: Amy Noon
Cumberland Elementary: Braden Brown
Dan Mills Elementary: Laura Judd
Dodson Elementary: Heather Blankenship
DuPont Elementary: Tracy Bates
Eagle View Elementary: Antoinette Edmonds
Eakin Elementary: Marvetta Smith
Fall-Hamilton Elementary: Kelsey Rich Inniss
Gateway Elementary: Katie Traxler
Glencliff Elementary: Dianna Gutierrez
Glendale Elementary: Fabiola Edwards
Glengarry Elementary: Amanda Geile
Glenview Elementary: Treniscia Murrell
Goodlettsville Elementary: Tempest Covington
Gower Elementary: Sarah Jones
Granbery Elementary: Gretchen Campbell
Harpeth Valley Elementary: Heather Light
Harris-Hillman Special Education: Sally Tidball
Hattie Cotton Elementary: Kate Rattner
Haywood Elementary: Emily Pasko
Henry C. Maxwell Elementary: Kendall Thompson
Hermitage Elementary: Terria Holleman
Hickman Elementary: Cathy Cambron
Hull-Jackson Elementary: Shawn Blackwell
Ida B. Wells Elementary: Merlene Barlow
Inglewood Elementary: Anne-Thomas Donnelly
Ivanetta H. Davis Early Learning Center: Carrie Koedyker
J. E. Moss Elementary: Lyndsey Thomas
Joelton Elementary: Misty Ethridge
John B. Whitsitt Elementary: Erinn McGee
Jones Elementary: Regina Duncan
Julia Green Elementary: Shannon Meadows
Lakeview Elementary: Pamela Hoffmeyer
Lockeland Elementary: Emily Wall
May Werthan Shayne Elementary: Angenetta Grimes
McGavock Elementary: Elizabeth Herseth
Mt. View Elementary: Brenda Carey
Murrell at Glenn School: Jessica Moses
Napier Elementary: Amy Holt
Neely’s Bend K-8 School: Rebecca Harvey
Norman Binkley Elementary: LaJuana Baltimore
Old Center Elementary: Michelle Cobb
Paragon Mills Elementary: Katherine Hernandez
Park Avenue Elementary: Eric Trussell
Pennington Elementary: Melanie Spence
Percy Priest Elementary: Emily Cary
Robert Churchwell Elementary: Melanie White
Rosebank Elementary: Christine Coelho
Ross Early Learning Center: Kristin Rama
Ruby Major Elementary: Sijuwola Oyewumi
Shwab Elementary: Crisma Carter
Smith Springs Elementary: Chelsea Navarre
Stanford Elementary: Susan McClain
Stratton Elementary: Anethia Norris
Sylvan Park Elementary: Kelly Bulbulkaya
Thomas A. Edison Elementary: Denise Lancaster
Tom Joy Elementary: Demetrius Thomas
Tulip Grove Elementary: Melissa Foster
Tusculum Elementary: Erin King
Una Elementary: Vanessa Martin
Warner Elementary: Ishaya Marsh
Waverly-Belmont Elementary: Amy Gammenthaler
Westmeade Elementary: Cynthia Kleinrock
Middle School
Antioch Middle: Jasmine Whitmire
Apollo Middle: Ashley Lehenbauer
Bellevue Middle: Ann Martin
Croft Middle: Betty Dozier
Donelson Middle: Stephen Kosch
DuPont Hadley Middle: Ivy Franklin
DuPont Tyler Middle: Donna Snow
East Nashville Middle: Lori Jennings
Goodlettsville Middle: Jaleesa Jackson
H. G. Hill Middle: Courtney Antonello
Haynes Middle: Kimberly Brown
Head Middle: Kevin Stevens
Isaac Litton Middle: Briana Higdon
Isaiah T. Creswell Middle School of the Arts: Alison Foster
Jere Baxter Middle: Janiah Sandifer
John Early Middle: Carolyn Fitzgerald
John F. Kennedy Middle: Samira Hardcastle
John Trotwood Moore Middle: Alex Lute
Johnson Alternative Learning Center: Janet King
Madison Middle: Britanie Ferreras
Margaret Allen Middle: Katrina Fernandez
Martin Luther King Jr. School (Middle): Cami Townsel
McMurray Middle: Jefferson Davis
Meigs Middle: Lisa Quinn
Moses McKissack Middle: Samantha Lowe
Richard H. Dinkins Middle: Leeann White
Rose Park Middle: Mia Johnson
Stratford STEM Magnet School (Lower Campus): Sharisse Dye
Thurgood Marshall Middle: Denzel Brown
Two Rivers Middle: Hannah Tapp
West End Middle: Benjamin Jenkins
William Henry Oliver Middle: Shalanda Buchanan
Wright Middle: Maikel Rodriguez
High School
Antioch High: Cynthia Thomas
Cane Ridge High: Robert Clifton
Early College High: Frances Baugh
East Nashville Magnet High: Gloria Daniels
Glencliff High: Hank Cardwell
Hillsboro High: Lesa Banks
Hume-Fogg High: John Skinner
Hunters Lane High: Mercy Kasuku Aluoch
James Lawson High: Kathryn Rosa
John Overton High: Ellie Drennan
Maplewood High: Chad Atkinson
Martin Luther King Jr. School (High): Mackenzie Sample
McGavock High: Shasta Lee
MNPS Virtual School: Lillian Romero
Nashville Big Picture High: Jada Frank
Nashville School of the Arts: Angie Venable
Pearl-Cohn High: Benjamin Pomerantz
Stratford STEM Magnet School (Upper Campus): Quanita Adams
The Academy at Hickory Hollow: Tamika Reed
The Academy at Old Cockrill: Mary Cramb
The Academy at Opry Mills: Carolina Gruber
W. A. Bass Learning Center: Sonya Mansfield
Whites Creek High: Kendall Billingslea
