EDUCATION
Cobb County’s Top Teacher
Cindy Wadsworth, a third-grade teacher at Kemp Elementary School in Powder Springs, stands with her family,
who surprised her as she was named the Cobb County School District’s Teacher of the Year.
By Thomas Hartwell
thartwell@mdjonline.com
The Cobb County School District crowned in August its districtwide
outstanding educator for the 2019-20 school year.
Cindy Wadsworth, a third grade teacher at Kemp Elementary
School in Powder Springs, said Superintendent Chris Ragsdale’s cover
was blown just before the surprise announcement when she and
other staff noticed it was a little chilly in the school’s cafeteria.
Ragsdale visited the school when Wadsworth was named the
elementary school Teacher of the Year in July. It was then that Kemp
Principal Shea Thomas told Wadsworth, rumor had it, the superintendent
has the temperature of the assembly room turned down
when he’ll be visiting, Wadsworth said.
“So when I walked into the cafeteria, one of my team members
looked at me and said, ‘Did you win the whole thing? It’s really cold
in here,’” Wadsworth laughed. “I said, ‘Don’t say that. Don’t make me
nervous.’ And then we saw Mr. Ragsdale. At that point, I knew. And I
got nervous and started crying.”
Wadsworth, who has taught for more than 20 years, nine years at
Kemp, held back tears as her mother, father, husband and daughters
joined her at the front of the cafeteria, flanked by Hillgrove High
School cheerleaders and band members.
She said she was humbled to be chosen for such an honor just for
doing what she loves.
“I can honestly say that I have gotten more than I’ve ever given,”
Wadsworth said, choking up as she clutched a microphone at the
front of the room packed with students and teachers. “One thing
that I really try to teach my girls is if you follow your passion, you’ll
144 FACTBOOK 2020
never work a day in your life. ... I don’t feel like I’ve ever worked
a day in my life, because I love what I do. I love coming to school
every day.”
Wadsworth’s parents, Al and Ellen Tryba, rose early and drove
more than an hour from their Forsyth County home to see their
daughter awarded for her teaching prowess. The Trybas said
they’d always known she’d make an excellent teacher and their
only question was “why it took so long” for her to be recognized
at this level.
“This shows her passion and her dedication. That comes out
when something like this happens. It’s unbelievable,” Ellen Tryba
said, tearing up. “When she was younger, she was real easy-going.
Nothing bothered her. And I thought, ‘She’d be great with
young kids.’”
Al Tryba said he thought his daughter would want to move up
in grades as she progressed through her career. But, he said, she’s
stayed with elementary school students because she believes in
giving them a solid foundation from which to work forward.
“I think she feels that she can influence them, rather than the
kids that are older, because they’re set in their ways,” he said.
Superintendent Ragsdale said Kemp understands the most
important part of being a teacher — building relationships —
which is why she was chosen by her peers and panels of administrators
and staff as the districtwide Teacher of the Year.
“Relationships are what make you successful, so her understanding
that and what she talked about today — if you follow
your passion, you’ll never work a day in your life — you can
just tell that she’s called to be a teacher. She is exactly where she
needs to be,” he said.
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