Meredith Tongue, an eighth-grade social studies teacher at Elkins Pointe Middle School, is Fulton County Schools' 2016 Teacher of the Year. "I believe that the kids who need love the most ask for it in the most unloving ways. I think if all educators were to reframe their thinking about kids and the behaviors they exhibit as cries for help, we would be able to reach more at-risk students," Tongue said. Tongue had been nominated as her school's Teacher of the Year five times in the past five years.

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Cobb County teacher Katie Rinderle testifies at a hearing at the Cobb County Board of Education in Marietta on Thursday, August 10, 2023. Rinderle was fired after reading “My Shadow is Purple,” a book about gender identity, to fifth graders. (Arvin Temkar/ajc)

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People carrying a giant pride flag participate in the annual Pride Parade in Atlanta on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez