Ball Ground Elementary School STEM Academy teacher Joy Silk has been selected Teacher of the Year for Cherokee County School District (CCSD). Teacher of the Year is selected by a panel of community leaders, who evaluate applications from each school's Teacher of the Year (school winners are selected by their peers).

Silk says she found her dream job with the CCSD's creation of STEM Academies and her role as a STEM lab and AIM gifted program teacher. "It doesn't get any better than this. I love technology...I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't in CCSD."

Silk's mother, Judy Brandon, also won the CCSD Teacher of the Year honor more than a decade ago at R.M. Moore ES. Silk's father, Nathan, was dean of students at then-Reinhardt College during most of her childhood.

"As a student, I was a classic nerd. I loved everything about school and wanted to emulate every teacher I ever had," Silk said. "But, I swore to my parents that I would never be a teacher when I grew up. I can remember them both smirking at me each time I declared it. I'm so glad I followed my gut and went into education. I've never regretted that decision."

Silk began her teaching career in 2000 at Boston ES, where she worked as an Early Intervention Program teacher and technology teacher, and then taught at Hasty ES and R.M. Moore ES before joining Ball Ground ES STEM Academy in 2012 in her current role. She earned her bachelor's degree in education from Reinhardt University, followed by a master's degree in early childhood education and an education specialist degree in curriculum and instruction, both from Piedmont College.