Teachers from New Middleton, Gordonsville Middle School and High School were recently selected as District Teachers of the Year for 2023-24. Each were recently featured on the Smith County Board of Education Facebook page.
Mrs. Lisa Nixon was selected as the Pre-K-4th Grade Teacher of the Year for Smith County Schools. Mrs. Lisa Nixon has taught Kindergarten for 29 years for Smith County Schools. She began her career at Gordonsville Elementary, and later transitioned to New Middleton Elementary in 2017. Mrs. Nixon attended both Gordonsville Elementary and High School as a student herself. After graduating from GHS, she went on to receive her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Cumberland University. She then returned back to Gordonsville to begin a family and pursue her teaching career.
Sabrina Knowles, Gordonsville High School was selected for grades 9-12 Teacher of the Year for Smith County Schools. Mrs. Knowles teaches 9th grade English and sponsors Tiger TV at Gordonsville High School. She also sponsors the GHS Diamond Club, an organization of students who support softball and baseball through spirit signs, treat bags, and working the gate at games.
She earned her undergraduate degree in English at Cumberland University in 2010, where she received the Student Service Award. Knowles worked for 10 years as a reporter for The Lebanon Democrat and editor of The Wilson Post newspapers before beginning her second career in education. Knowles received her Master of Arts in Teaching from Cumberland University in 2021.
Stacy Reeves, Gordonsville Middle School was selected for grades 5-8 Teacher of the Year for Smith County Schools. Ms. Reeves has dedicated the last 17 years to teaching young people English Language Arts at her alma mater. Reeves, a 1987 graduate of Gordonsville High School, credits her former teacher, Ms. Patricia Poston, with fostering her love of English.
Reeves earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications from Middle Tennessee State University. It wasn’t until her son, Neel, started kindergarten that Reeves revisited the idea of teaching as a profession. “I realized then that I felt as if I had ‘missed the boat’ the first time around while attending college,” she explained. She returned to MTSU in 2005 to continue her education and become certified to teach English in grades 7-12.
