Holly Witcher, a special education teacher at Tesnatee Gap Elementary School in White County, is the 2025 Georgia Teacher of the Year.

Witcher is a 23-year teaching veteran and was named Teacher of the Year for her school in Rockdale County in 2006, along with White County District Teacher of the Year in 2023. In addition to teaching in traditional public schools, Witcher taught online for 10 years at Georgia Cyber Academy, where she served as a lead teacher for four years and Elementary School Assistant Administrator of Special Programs for four years.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgia College and State University and a master’s from the American College of Education.

Witcher works to connect her students to the community as a way to build adaptive skills, through monthly community-based instruction outing for students. Based on needs identified by students’ families, Witcher and other self-contained special education teachers in White County Schools partner with local businesses to introduce students to different environments in the community – from the local grocery store to the high school’s teaching salon.  

She also focuses on providing a language-rich classroom and building her students’ ability to communicate effectively.

As Georgia Teacher of the Year, she will serve as an advocate for public education in Georgia, speaking to the public about the teaching profession and serving as an ex-officio member of the State Board of Education. She will also participate in the competitive selection process for the 2025 National Teacher of the Year.​​