Class Act

Nominate a teacher for Class Act! Click here to e-mail Donna Lowry!

11Alive celebrates Class Act teachers

8:09 AM, May 7, 2013

All of this year's Class Act recipients were invited to 11Alive's Midtown studio for a special reception Tuesday morning.

Orchestra teacher changes kids' lives one instrument at a time

10:33 AM, Apr 12, 2013

One of the most popular teachers at Elkins Pointe Middle School dazzles students with beautiful music and inspires them to play string instruments.

Teacher creates game to teach math

Playing video games at school may seem like goofing off, but not in Martin Estermans math class. The Marietta teacher designed a nationally recognized video game to help his students learn.

9:38 AM, Mar 18, 2013

Martin Esterman wrote a math video game as a hobby, but when he found his seventh graders enjoyed playing it, he turned it into something more.

Teacher is superhero to his students

Griffin Nichols, a 4th grade teacher at New Georgia Elementary in Paulding County, is a superhero to his students.

11:27 AM, Mar 11, 2013

Griffin Nichols teaches each child differently at New Georgia Elementary School.

Memories: Students open a time capsule from 1992

Marjory Segal, an English teacher at Holcomb Bridge Middle School, had her students create a time capsule in 1992. Twenty years later, they all gathered to open it.

12:31 PM, Mar 7, 2013

In 1992, eighth grade students in Marjory Segal's English classes at Holcomb Bridge Middle School put items in a time capsule to open 20 years later.

Teacher makes math unforgettable

Sixth grade teacher Naimah Oladuwa Frame of The Childrens School helps students remember math long after they leave her class.

7:59 AM, Mar 5, 2013

The true test of a teacher's legacy are the students who credit the educator with changing their lives.

Teacher helps students get a second chance

Cave encourages his students at Elizabeth Andrews High School in DeKalb County to open up and share their stories. He teaches at an alternative school because he believes in second chances for all.

12:09 PM, Feb 18, 2013

At Elizabeth Andrews High School, teacher Christopher Cave gets teens to think about life lessons.

Class community is known as "Smartieville"

7:55 PM, Feb 13, 2013

If you're looking for a town with 100% employment, you'll have to make it to Sope Creek Elementary School.

Class Act teacher by day, actress by night

12:13 PM, Feb 11, 2013

Laura Floyd obviously likes a challenge. In recent weeks she has taken on directing 64 children at Holy Innocents' Episcopal School.

Teacher creates musical history

South Forsyth Advanced Placement History teacher, Thomas Wolff, creates songs to help his students remember the past.

12:11 PM, Feb 4, 2013

AP U.S. History teacher, Thomas Wolff, has found a way to help his students retain what they learn by turning historical events into songs.

Teacher's enthusiasm for creating art is infectious

Theresa Dean inspires students to want to create art.

10:42 AM, Jan 23, 2013

Theresa Dean inspires students to become more artistic because her enthusiasm for creating art is infectious.

Fun leads to serious music under teacher's direction

Carl Reike, the orchestra teacher at Ola Middle School in Henry County, has some unorthodox (but fun!) ways of getting his students to pay attention and practice.

10:01 AM, Jan 16, 2013

In Carl Reike's orchestra classes at Ola Middle School, playing an instrument is fun.

Teacher inspires students with Jeopardy dreams

Christopher Pae teaches his students to dream big and through his appearance on Jeopardy! he showed them dream can come true.

12:20 PM, Jan 7, 2013

Christopher Pae really likes coming up with questions. Just ask Alex Trebek.

Teacher willing to dress up to excite kids about math

Tabitha Burcher thinks nothing of dressing up in costumes to help students understand math concepts. She also cooks in her class once a month -- to help kids understand math is a part of everyday life.

11:27 AM, Dec 17, 2012

Jennifer Burcher thinks nothing of dressing up in costumes to help students understand math concepts.

Teacher creates rap songs to help students learn

Lindsay Scott won 11Alives Class Act Award because of her dedication to her students, which includes creating rap songs to help them learn difficult concepts.

11:27 AM, Dec 10, 2012

Lindsay Scott knows it's tough for students to learn new math concepts, so she creates rap songs to help them.

Teacher's secret to stamina: Swim every day

After 40 years of teaching, you’d think Ms. Barnes would slow down, but she insists on teaching a class each year of ninth graders.

2:08 PM, Nov 27, 2012

After 40 years of teaching, you'd think Ms. Barnes would slow down, but she insists on teaching a class of ninth graders each year.

Athens teacher brings lessons of Holocaust to life

Meghan McNeeley has created a curriculum that infuses the history of the holocaust into all of her English classes.

12:21 PM, Nov 19, 2012

Meghan McNeeley grew up listening to stories about D-Day from her grandfather, a World War II veteran. Now history is at the core of everything she teaches in her high school English classes.

Teacher proves she's a class act even during a storm

3:08 PM, Nov 12, 2012

When Jonesboro High School teach Anna Cox found herself stranded in New York City with more than a dozen teenagers during Superstorm Sandy, she didn't panic.

Ga. teacher presents lesson to Apple employees

Teacher Cortney Campbell created a lesson that hass impressed the executives at Apple.

2:21 PM, Nov 5, 2012

On Election Day, instead of teaching her fourth grade class at Warren T. Jackson Elementary, Cortney Campbell present a video and lesson on Common Sense to 600 executives and staff of Apple.

Dance teacher helps uplift academics, health in teens

Class Act winner Melissa Colon helps teens with academics and health through dance.

9:34 AM, Oct 24, 2012

Not all teachers can get sixth, seventh and eighth graders spending an hour or two each day jumping and kicking at least an hour a day during the school day, but Melissa Colon is good at it.