2024 Educator Conference

Named the 2024 Georgia Teacher of the Year, Christy Todd is a music technology teacher who believes every child has a creative superpower.

In addition to teaching classes at Rising Starr Middle School in Fayetteville, Georgia, Todd is the founder of her district’s Community for Creativity initiative, supporting schoolwide creation of songs, podcasts, videos, audio books and more, which are released through the school’s recording label, Hall Pass Entertainment. Passionate about building opportunities for all students to create, Todd launched a special music collaboration between fine arts and special education classrooms that has impacted more than 10,000 students over the last 15 years.

Prior to teaching, Todd worked in business development in the nonprofit sector and draws from that experience to build connections between students, colleagues, families and communities. She began her teaching career as a chorus director and still actively conducts honor choirs, along with publishing articles and research for various state, national and international education journals.

Todd’s career recognitions include 2013 Grammy Music Teacher of the Year National Quarterfinalist, 2016 Georgia Middle School Association’s Teacher of the Year, 2022 Fayette County Public Schools Teacher of the Year, and was recently named one of four nationwide finalists for 2024 National Teacher of the Year. Todd received a Bachelor of Music Education from Shorter College, a Master of Music Education from Florida State University, and currently resides in Griffin, GA.