Roberts Named Metro Atlanta Literacy Teacher of Year
Seventh-grade reading teacher Shawndella Roberts of Lindley Middle School in Mableton earned the inaugural regional honor from the Georgia Council on Literacy.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Secondary Education
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The Georgia Council on Literacy named Shawndella Roberts, a seventh-grade reading teacher at Lindley Middle School in Mableton, metro Atlanta's inaugural Literacy Teacher of the Year. All 16 statewide regional honorees became finalists for the overall state Literacy Teacher of the Year.
Why it matters
The award recognizes classroom literacy instruction across a region that includes Cobb County and the wider metro Atlanta area. Its creation marks the first regional recognition from the Georgia Council on Literacy's Metro Atlanta Regional Educational Service Agency.
The Georgia Council on Literacy selected Roberts from 223 nominees in the Metro Atlanta region, one of 16 regional honorees statewide. The overall state winner has not been announced and will be revealed later this year.
The players
Georgia Council on Literacy
A statewide nonprofit organization that promotes literacy education and runs annual teacher recognition programs across Georgia's regional education service agencies.
Chris Ragsdale
Superintendent of Cobb County School District who presented the award to Roberts and her students.
The details
Roberts was nominated for the award and surprised at Lindley Middle School by Cobb Schools Superintendent Chris Ragsdale and her students. The honor follows her earlier work as a third-grade literacy teacher at Birney Elementary School, and her 25-year teaching career includes her 10th year with the Cobb School District.
Timeline
Thursday, week of November 5, 2026: Roberts named metro Atlanta Literacy Teacher of the Year.
Later this year: State Literacy Teacher of the Year announcement.
Season Trajectory
The Georgia Council on Literacy's regional Literacy Teacher of the Year program now includes a metro Atlanta award, adding a layer of recognition beneath the statewide honor. The new regional honor places Roberts among 16 finalists for the state's top literacy teaching prize.
Georgia families and educators in the Cobb and metro Atlanta area can follow the state competition as it advances toward its later announcement. Teachers across the state can look to the regional nomination process as a model for recognizing classroom literacy work.
The takeaway
Roberts' selection from 223 metro Atlanta nominees shows how regional recognition can spotlight sustained classroom reading instruction. Educators looking to strengthen literacy outcomes can draw on the grade-level growth goals and classroom-focused practices that earned her the honor.
What happens next
The overall state Literacy Teacher of the Year will be announced later this year, with all 16 regional honorees as finalists.
Further reading
Explore more coverage in Secondary Education for context on classroom teaching and literacy programs across Georgia.
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