The McDuffie County School System has named Elizabeth Hahn, a Thomson High School (THS) language arts teacher, as its 2025 Teacher of the Year.
Hahn was selected from a group of six school-level winners: Latasha West of Thomson Elementary, Jeri Richards of Maxwell Elementary, Amy Botelho of Norris Elementary, Amy Hernandez Oviedo of Dearing Elementary, and Stephanie Cruz-Phillips of Thomson-McDuffie Middle, along with Hahn representing Thomson High.
Hahn, who received the golden apple trophy during an Aug. 28 ceremony at the Thomson High School auditorium, has been an educator for 20 years, the past nine at THS.
Beyond the classroom, Hahn contributes to the graduation and Bulldog Way committees, serves as a homebound teacher, debate coach, department chair, and mentors new teachers.
“I realized that I really wanted to make a difference in the lives of students in the way that teachers were there for me,” Hahn said. “Every single year, no matter how many times I’ve read or taught a piece, there is a student that teaches me something new about that literature that I did not know. And I love that about teaching.”
As McDuffie County’s top teacher, Hahn will now advance to compete in the Georgia Teacher of the Year program.
