Jerry Kosoff, 2016-17 Atlanta Public Schools Districtwide Teacher of the Year, who teaches AP Calculus and AP Statistics at KIPP Atlanta Collegiate High School, was named one of 10 finalists for the 2018 Georgia Teacher of the Year by State School Superintendent Richard Woods May 18.
 
Kosoff is the fourth districtwide APS teacher to be named a finalist for Georgia Teacher of the Year in the last three years along with special education teacher Elisha Gray (2013), math teacher Tamika N. Ball (2014) and gifted teacher Rita Simmons McGlothin (2015).  Kosoff also is the first charter school teacher in the history of APS to be named a finalist for GA TOTY.
 
The 10 finalists were chosen from a pool of 150 applicants; all had been previously selected as their school district’s Teacher of the Year. The applications were read by a panel of judges that included teachers, past Georgia Teacher of the Year winners and finalists, administrators, community leaders and others. The finalists were chosen based on the strength of their essay responses.
 
After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, Kosoff moved to Atlanta with Teach for America’s 2012 Corps. At the Carver School of Health Sciences and Research, he taught Math IV and Georgia Graduation Test preparation classes. Since transitioning to KIPP Atlanta Collegiate in 2014, Kosoff has taught several math courses across the 11th and 12th grades, including his personal favorite, AP Calculus. In 2016, Kosoff was named math department chair, overseeing the implementation of rigorous Common Core aligned curricula.
 
Over the next several weeks, a panel of judges will conduct interviews and observe speeches given by the finalists. The winner will be announced June 12.