Teachers from Walton, Pope, Lassiter and Wheeler high schools were among more than 130 educators celebrated Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the Cobb Chamber’s annual Teacher of the Year pep rally in Marietta.
The 35th annual “Give Our Schools a Hand Celebration Pep Rally” recognized school-level honorees from Cobb County and Marietta school systems at Mission Church Roswell Street, the Marietta Daily Journal reported.
The East Cobb high school honorees were Tara Cohen of Walton, Ashley Wallace of Pope, Lizz Etter of Lassiter and Alissa R. Jean of Wheeler, according to the district’s official 2026-27 list.
Other local recipients included LaDonna Stephens at East Cobb Middle School, Richard Wilford at Dodgen Middle School and Autumn Phillips at Hightower Trail Middle School. Elementary school honorees included Maggie Hunter at Mount Bethel, Angela Yim at Sope Creek and Danielle Schenk at Timber Ridge.
The teachers were selected by their school peers, according to the district.
Cobb’s overall District Teacher of the Year is Kylie Hardy, an English to Speakers of Other Languages teacher at Mableton Elementary School. Superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced her selection Aug. 17, the district said.
Hardy works with students in kindergarten through fifth grade, including children learning English for the first time. She is also completing an advanced degree through Georgia’s BEST, which allows participating educators to continue teaching while earning degrees at no cost.
Earlier this month, Hardy was recognized through the handprint tradition on Marietta Square, joining other district winners whose handprints form the Teacher Walk of Honor.
Hardy also holds Cobb’s elementary-level award. Ebony Collier of Tapp Middle School and Lisa Peacock of Osborne High School are the district’s middle- and high-school-level Teachers of the Year.
