Years ago, a woman approached College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences Dean Ellen McIntyre, then a first-grade teacher, and asked her a question that stuck: Do you know how important the work you do is?
The question never left her.
This past week, in her role as Dean, McIntyre introduced two of Tennessee’s Teachers of the Year to a room full of future teachers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. As she did, she returned to that moment as proof of something she wanted the students to understand teaching looks ordinary from the outside and, in reality, is anything but.
That belief sat at the center of the inaugural “Top Teachers on Rocky Top,” an event co-hosted by the university’s Division of Enrollment Management to honor the current Tennessee Department of Education Teacher of the Year and Grand Division winners.
The Tennessee Teacher of the Year award is decided through five competitive cycles, starting at the school level, district, region, grand division, and state across three grade bands, with the winner going on to represent the state in the National Teacher of the Year program.
Two of this year’s honorees came to campus to talk with education students
- Brandy De La Cruz, Ph.D., the 2025-26 Tennessee Teacher of the Year and math teacher at Collierville High School
- Caitlin Tucker, the West Tennessee Grand Division winner and speech-language pathologist at Sharon School, a pre-K–8 school in Weakley County
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Two additional regional winners were unable to attend:
- Ginger Colbert, a fourth-grade teacher at Poplar Grove Elementary in the Franklin Special School District
- Ashley Mosley, a kindergarten teacher at Jasper Elementary in Marion County
These teachers were honored with a weekend of activities, including a tailgate, football tickets, and time on the field being honored by more than 100,000 Vols.
But their time talking with prospective teachers in CEHHS was moving. They sat with Dean McIntyre as she facilitated the panel.
“At the University of Tennessee, we have the privilege, and the awesome responsibility, of preparing the next generation of teachers,” said Dean McIntyre. “I can’t think of a profession that’s more important.”
That responsibility, McIntyre said, extends far beyond the classroom.
“As Tennessee’s flagship and land-grant institution, our commitment to education extends well beyond our own campus,” said Kari Alldredge, senior vice provost of Enrollment Management. “We are dedicated to improving the lives of Tennesseans, both today and for generations to come. Educators leave a legacy unlike any other. They inspire a college-going culture throughout the state, elevate the value and reputation of higher education, and help sustain one of our most essential workforces.”
That mission was the driving force behind the event.
“Top Teachers on Rocky Top celebrates Tennessee’s exceptional educators and gives us the opportunity to learn from their expertise they bring to the Tennessee children and classrooms every day,” said David Chiak, an associate dean of professional educator programs and director of the Bailey Graduate School of Education. “Rocky Top is their home. The place where we value each educator’s impact and champion the teaching profession.”
From the shoe store to the classroom
De La Cruz didn’t set out to teach math.
She hated it in high school, went to college wanting to make money, and graduated from the University of Mississippi with a business degree that led to managing a Finish Line shoe store.
The turn came during an overnight inventory shift. A customer, venting that her son’s math teacher had just been fired, asked what it took to become one. De La Cruz had a degree, freshly finished that May. Two days later, she was hired to teach math at Little Rock Central High School.
De La Cruz wants her students to walk into her classroom knowing that she believes in them before they ever have the chance to believe in themselves.
“In mathematics, that means I refuse to lower the ceiling for students. Instead, I work to build more doors – different pathways, supports, challenges, and opportunities that allow every student to experience success,” she said. “Whether I am teaching a student who is preparing for calculus or a student who has struggled with math for years, I want them to know they belong in the room and that their potential is not defined by a test score, a label, or their past experiences.
“Every day, I try to give my students a little more confidence, a little more courage, and a little more belief in their own possibilities,” De La Cruz continued. “If they leave my classroom believing, ‘I can do hard things,’ then I know I have brought a little bit of Rocky Top with me.”
Full circle
Tucker grew up around education, her father a geography professor, her mother a special education teacher, and eventually volunteered at the same school where she now works, closing what she calls a “full circle.”
She studied psychology at the University of Tennessee at Martin and earned her speech-language pathology master’s online through Western Kentucky University.
Her first clinical placement had her face a new challenge: every student used augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), communication devices she’d never worked with.
“When I entered education as a speech-language pathologist more than ten years ago, I believed wholeheartedly that all students have the ability to learn, to grow, and to succeed if given the right tools and the right support,” Tucker said. “Over the years, I have seen that belief come to life in powerful ways. I have watched students find their voice through a speech-generating device and celebrated alongside families when their children reached milestones that once felt impossible.
“This award is a reflection of all the educators across Tennessee who show up every single day with courage, compassion, and creativity,” she continued.
“The spirit of Rocky Top is about pride, perseverance, and believing in one another,” Mosley said. “I bring that into my classroom by creating a place where every child knows they are loved, capable, and worth celebrating. We celebrate the little victories and remind each other that we are a team.
While none of the recipients attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, each one of them embodies the true spirit of a Volunteer.
