October 29, 2025 — Pom-poms waved, students cheered, and raised signs as Cobb County's top educators took center stage at the 2025 Teacher of the Year Pep Rally at Roswell Street Baptist Church. The annual event looks and feels more like a championship celebration than a ceremony. Still, instead of athletes, it was educators who were being celebrated for their outstanding accomplishments and impact inside and outside the classroom.

More than 112 teachers from across the Cobb County School District paraded across the stage, greeted with cheers and applause from their students. They were presented with plaques honoring them as one of Cobb County's 2025 Teachers of the Year. The celebration took place in front of hundreds of students, teachers, family members, and community members.

The annual pep rally is a salute to Cobb teachers, serving as a way to recognize and thank the dedicated educators who are key to their students' success. It's part of the Cobb Chamber's Give Our Schools a Hand celebration that honors more than 120 Teachers of the Year from Cobb County, Marietta City, and post-secondary education systems. It's one of the highest salutes to public education in the nation. 

It also comes just weeks after the Cobb Chamber's Teacher of the Year Handprint Ceremony, which honored Cobb's Teacher of the Year, Amanda Dillard. She cemented her place in history and unveiled her handprints earlier this month along the Teacher Walk of Fame in Marietta. Dillard was named Cobb's district-level Teacher of the Year by Superintendent Chris Ragsdale back in August.

During the ceremony, Marietta City School's Teacher of the Year, along with Cobb's three district-level Teachers of the Year, participated in a drawing to determine which brand of new car they will drive for a year completely free, thanks to Ed Voyles Automotive Group. If one of the Cobb teachers is selected as Georgia's Teacher of the Year, they will keep the keys to their new car forever. 

Congratulations to all of Cobb's Teachers of the Year on this incredible accomplishment!