BARTOW COUNTY, Ga. — A Bartow County music teacher was named the state's top educator during a banquet Saturday night in LaGrange.
Michael Kobito, an AP Music Theory teacher and high school band director at Woodland High School, was named the 2023 Georgia Teacher of the Year by State School Superintendent Richard Woods.
“Michael Kobito is an outstanding educator who exemplifies both student-centered decision-making and the role of the fine arts in providing a world-class education to students,” Superintendent Woods said. “I’m proud to recognize him as the 2023 Georgia Teacher of the Year, and look forward to working with him to elevate the teaching profession and advocate for Georgia’s public schools.”
Kobito oversees and manages four concert bands, a 200-member marching band, a basketball pep band, a private lessons institute, jazz band, and winter guard, according to a news release from the Georgia Dept. of Education. Under his direction, they said, the marching band has been invited to march in the National Cherry Blossom Parade in Washington, D.C. and the London New Year’s Day Parade in 2023.
Kobito also teaches AP Music Theory at Woodland High School. After his first year teaching the course, he had a 100 percent test participation rate and a 100 pass rate on the AP exam, the state said.
“We teach in a world that forces kids to be comparative to the point of detriment, whether it be through social media, online entertainment, or other factors that increase the level of scrutiny for what would usually be considered missteps," Kobito wrote in his Georgia Teacher of the Year application. “Many of the students in our classes are afraid to try because they feel they aren’t as smart or skilled as their peers. In my classroom, from the very start, I reinforce our classroom philosophy: every student’s contribution is important, and every student can learn.”
Kobito is a graduate of the University of Georgia, and is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at Georgia College and State University.
Katie Blum, a second-grade teacher at Sugar Hill Elementary School in Gwinnett County Public Schools was the state's runner-up.
The finalists for the Teacher of the Year award were:
- Ashley Anglin, First Grade Teacher, Elm Street Elementary School, Rome City Schools
- Julie Caraballo, Seventh Grade Language Arts Teacher, J.R. Trippe Middle School, Vidalia City Schools
- Laura Floryance, First Grade Teacher, Sawyer Road Elementary School, Marietta City Schools
- Susan Howard, K-5 STEM Teacher, Lanier School for Inquiry, Investigation, and Innovation, Hall County Schools
- Vicki Knox, Fifth Grade Mathematics Teacher, Deer Chase Elementary School, Richmond County School System
- Chelsea Leming, Fifth Grade Teacher, Indian Knoll Elementary School, Cherokee County School District
- Lisa Seegar, Fifth Grade Science Teacher, Britt David Magnet Academy, Muscogee County School District
- Jesse Smith, CTAE Teacher, Rockdale Career Academy, Rockdale County Public Schools