ATLANTA - Lesther Martin-Lorenzo, a third grade teacher at the Hall County School System's World Language Academy, was among 40 of Georgia's "best and brightest" new teachers to receive a New Teacher Assistance Grant from Georgia Power this year.
Teacher nominations were submitted to Georgia Power by the 20 Georgia public colleges and universities that have a school of education. To be eligible for the grant, candidates had to be in the top 25 percent of their class academically, be a first-year teacher employed by a public school in Georgia, and demonstrate a high aptitude for teaching.
"Teacher retention is a national crisis and an important goal here in the state," said Kevin Fletcher, Georgia Power's vice president of Community and Economic Development. "Research shows that approximately one-third of teachers leave the profession within five years of being hired. In order to support and keep these highly qualified teachers in the classroom, we have found that providing them with incentives early in their professional careers encourages them to continue educating the future workforce of the state."
Each year since 2004, Georgia Power has awarded the $1,000 grants to help encourage new teachers to stay in the profession and to provide them with much-needed funds to purchase classroom supplies, equipment or materials not provided by their schools.
"Public school teachers in the U.S. spent more than $1.33 billion out of pocket on school supplies and instructional materials during the 2009
Wednesday
July 9th, 2025
8:44PM
