And Cobb County Schools Teacher Of The Year Is...

MARIETTA, GA -- The Cobb County School District named Nicole Kempson as its 2017 Teacher of the Year, the system said Friday. Superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced the honor as the new school year's second week came to a close.

The surprise announcement took place in the Lindley Sixth Grade Academy gym as Pebblebrook High School's band and cheerleaders performed at the event. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

“I’m grateful! I’m thankful! I’m surprised! It is a great feeling,” Kempson, an earth science teacher at Lindley Sixth Grade Academy in Mableton, said of the announcement. She said her inspiration was her grandmother, who taught for 27 years and was in attendance.

Kempson's achievement is significant, Ragsdale said because aside from school-level Teacher of the Year, she has a shot to aim for Georgia Teacher of the Year. Kempson said that she is flattered by the honor but wants to keep focusing on her sixth-graders.

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“I’m going to do my best to keep doing what I’m doing and making sure my students have everything they need [in order] to know that where they are is not where they are going to end up,” Kempson said.

Images via Cobb County School District