Join the David T. Bailey Graduate School of Education and the College of Education, Health & Human Sciences Office of Professional Licensure for a lecture by Missy Testerman, 2023-24 Tennessee Teacher of the Year. Testerman’s lecture, “Empowering Futures: The Crucial Contribution of Teachers in Shaping Lives,” will take place at 4:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 26 in the Baker School of Public Policy & Public Affairs, Room 103. Light refreshments will be served between 4–4:30 p.m. ET.
Missy Testerman
Missy Testerman served as a first and second grade teacher at Rogersville City School in Rogersville, Tennessee, for three decades before taking advantage of Tennessee’s progressive Grow Your Own initiative and adding an English as a Second Language endorsement so that she could ensure immigrant students and families had an advocate in their rural Appalachian area.
She currently serves as the district ESL Specialist and ESL Program Director. She coordinates the system’s summer programs and is heavily involved in many programs, including being a mentor teacher and member of the teacher leadership team.
A staunch advocate for students, teachers, and families, Testerman considers her most important job to be making certain that her ESL students are prepared to advocate for their limited English proficiency families. She considers her greatest contribution to her profession to be the love and desire for learning that she has instilled in countless students over the past three decades. Seeing her former students succeed in life is the basis of Testerman’s continued desire to educate the next generation and ensure they receive a broadened education while living in a rural setting.
If you have any questions, email BeATeacher@utk.edu.