Georgia Association for the Education of Young Children

The GAEYC Adult Educator of the Year award is presented to an outstanding secondary or post-secondary educator in Georgia.

Recipients of the GAEYC Adult Educator of the Year award must meet the following criteria:

GAEYC member*
Outstanding secondary or post-secondary educator
Teaches Child Development, Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Special Ed, or a related field

*Know a qualified educator who is not yet a GAEYC member? Joining is easy, and GAEYC members receive many benefits.

2018: Dr. Stacy Delacruz
Stacy Delacruz is a faculty member at Kennesaw State University. One of her students said about her, “Dr. Delacruz is an outstanding early childhood education professor who was actually my professor. Most recently she won a KSU Career Services award for having her name mentioned as the person who had the most impact on undergraduate teacher education candidates during their time at KSU for the entire college. Most specifically, Dr. Delacruz models developmentally appropriate approaches to literacy. She teaches us that literacy development can begin “in the womb” and can be supported through read-alouds, exposure to and concepts about print, learning the alphabetic principle, and phonemic awareness. Dr. Delacruz always teaches her students in engaging, innovative ways to make the learning fun and memorable. She not only cares about the content, but she cares about each one of her adult learners, too. She takes time to learn about our own fundamentals of knowledge so she can embed that into classroom instruction, just like we can do the same with our own early learners.”
2015: Randy Taylor
2014: Andrea Lott
2013: Jane Day Hyche
2012: Ruth Saxton
2011: Landis Hicks
2010: Penny Elkins
2009: Gary Larson
2008: Anita Dailey
2007: Charlene Duncan
2006: Priscilla Smith
2005: Peggy Gallagher
2004: Mick Coleman
2003: Charlotte Wallinga
2002: Anita Smith
2001: Julia Reguero de Atiles
1998: Tina Butcher
1991: Jean Sanders

GAEYC Adult Educator of the Year