Cobb County educator, opera singer named Teacher of the Year: "I wanted to reach more people"

A fine arts teacher and opera singer who has been inspiring her students to express themselves on stage has been named Cobb County Schools' Teacher of the Year.

Ebony Collier started the fine arts program for Tapp Middle School in Powder Springs, teaching chorus and theater while still performing with the Atlanta Opera.

"I actually went to school and studied to be a performer. I'm a vocalist. I'm a performer with the Atlanta Opera and different companies throughout Atlanta," Collier said.

She became a teacher six years ago, first teaching in Henry County before moving to Cobb and starting the program.

"I wanted to reach more people, work with more kids, so I started the journey of becoming a teacher," said Collier.

To say she's simply teaching the kids is an understatement.

"I think she's the best teacher in the world," said Alayah Wilson, a seventh grader in Collier's theater class.

Wilson hopes to be an actress thanks to her teacher.

"I like to be in musicals," Wilson said.

She credits the fun she has in Ms. Collier's classroom for her future plans.

"Sometimes the people she works with will come out to the school, and we get to have like an in-school field trip, and they'll show us all the things they do outside of school," said Wilson. "It's very fun because we get to see what job opportunities are out there, like what it's more like out there in the world, so we have ideas of what we want to do when we get older."

"Just basically exposing them to different options as well as being transparent and making myself available," said Collier.

It's that effort of going above and beyond that won Collier the title of teacher of the year for the Cobb County School District for its middle schools.

"They're like, 'Ms. Collier, stand up.' And I look over, and I see my mom and my family, and I don't know, it was just an amazing experience," she recalled.  

It's an experience she hopes will continue to inspire her students in the classroom and the theater.