Jemelleh Coes

Jemelleh Coes is Georgia’s 2014 Teacher of the Year. She spent six years teaching English/language arts and math in both the general and special education setting at Langston Chapel Middle School. While there, she also worked as the site supervisor for the 21st Century Learning Community Afterschool/Summer Program. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in educational theory and practice with certificates in interdisciplinary law and policy, disability studies, and qualitative research at the University of Georgia. She currently works as a field instructor for teacher candidates at the University of Georgia in the middle grades teacher preparation program. She also serves as a teacher mentor for classroom teachers throughout the state. In this capacity, she supports teachers with career development and special projects. While pursuing her terminal degree, Jemelleh serves as the education co-chair for Georgia’s National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Chapter, president-elect of the Georgia Teachers of the Year Association, advisory councilman for the Georgia Partnership of Excellence in Education, board member for the Georgia Cyber Academy, advisory councilman of Georgia’s Network for Transforming Educator Preparation, and board member for Georgia Southern University Alumni Association. She is also a very active member of the National Network of State Teachers of the Year and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She travels nationwide to give keynote addresses and workshops for schools, districts, policymakers, businesses, communities, and service organizations to discuss hot topics in education and to keep them engaged in how everyone can work together to ensure a bright for all students. She is the daughter of immigrant parents from Guyana and a first-generation college graduate. She was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Decatur, Georgia. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degree in education from Georgia Southern University. She lives in Athens, Georgia with her husband Alvie Coes, III and three-year-old daughter, Gabrielle.