Houston County elementary teacher named finalist for 2026 Georgia Teacher of the Year

HOUSTON COUNTY — Houston County’s Teacher of the Year, Jade Thomas, has been named a top-ten finalist for the 2026 Georgia Teacher of the Year.

Thomas teaches fourth-grade social studies and English language arts at Lake Joy Elementary School. She was born and raised in Niagara Falls, New York. After high school, she served in the Marine Corps from 2008 to 2015. 

“After having children, I realized I wanted to follow my dream and passion of becoming a teacher,” she said. 

Thomas shared that her mother is who inspired her to become a teacher. 

“[My mother] is a minister, raised seven children and I saw her being an advocate for my younger brothers in the school system who have special needs,” she said. “Seeing her navigate the school system and being our first teacher kind of inspired me to pursue a career teaching.” 

Thomas started her teaching career in January 2018 and taught fifth-grade math and science for her first six years of teaching. She then talked to her principals wanting to try something new. 

“I wanted to get out of my comfort zone of being a math teacher, and so with that came teaching reading and writing and social studies,” she said. “It’s been a good change as it’s always good to stay fresh as an elementary teacher and be able to teach all of the subjects.” 

Thomas feels incredible about her nomination as a finalist for Georgia’s Teacher of the Year. 

“I know that right now, especially in the state of education, I have a big role being an ambassador for education,” she said. 

Thomas also met with the current Teacher of the Year, Holly Witcher, and gave her some advice about potentially receiving this award. 

“[Witcher] put it pretty clearly that ‘we’re not looking for the best teacher, we’re looking for a teacher who can be an ambassador and lift teacher voice’, and it feels like I have a huge responsibility to amplify teacher voice and be a part of policy making decisions,” she said. 

Thomas is also very honored and excited to represent the Houston County School District. 

“We are the 12th largest district in the state, and I take that very seriously and take a lot of pride in representing our district,” she said. “We just have a high expectation for excellence and a high standard for our teachers and students in this District, so I think that just says a lot.” 

Winning the 2026 Teacher of the Year would mean a lot to Thomas. She said winning this prestigious award would further represent herself with teachers and education while doing her best to bring about change if needed. 

“It would mean so much as I have a big job to do and I take it very seriously so if that is what God is calling on for me to do next, then I’m ready for that challenge,” she said. 

Thomas would personally like to thank her Assistant Principal Dr. Sandra Crow as she has been a huge mentor for her. 

“We started in the classroom together, and I’ve watched her go from classroom teacher to now be our Assistant Principal. She has just opened doors and created opportunities for me that has allowed me to be where I’m at today,” she said. “I’m truly grateful for her as she has given me opportunities and challenged me to get to the level of excellence that she strives and sees for me.”