Stroud saluted as Lumpkin County’s top teacher

Lumpkin County Middle School Teacher Liz Stroud has been honored as the 2025 system-wide Teacher of the Year.
But she’s only interested in talking about one thing: how her big win could help boost visibility and recognition for the special education students she instructs.
“I want to use my platform to advocate for them,” Stroud told The Nugget in a recent interview.
Lumpkin Middle School Principal Nathan Gerrells, meanwhile, had nothing but praise for Stroud, describing her as “a phenomenal teacher.”
“She is loved by her students and peers alike, and is very deserving of the title of district teacher of the year,” Gerrells said.

A SPECIAL EDUCATOR

Stroud is a Hall County resident but has been involved in the Dahlonega community for years. She graduated from Gainesville High School and then obtained her bachelor’s degree in middle grades education at what is now the University of North Georgia.
“It was still North Georgia College [& State University] at the time, and I’m proud of that,” Stroud said.
She earned her master’s degree in special education from Brenau University, the same as her mother.
“My mom and grandma were both teachers so I’ve been around this career all my life. They are the two people that I look up to most, so getting my education degree was sort of inevitable,” Stroud said.
Stroud’s first year teaching was spent in Hall County. Then she taught two years of second grade English language arts in Lumpkin County, before going back to North Hall High School.
“I did 7th grade ELA for two years and then high school ELA and my old principal called me and knew that there was this position opening up, and that’s what I really wanted to do, so he asked if I would come back,” she recalled.
Stroud said growing up very close to a cousin with cerebral palsy ignited an early passion for helping people with disabilities.
“I started in general education and loved it; I wouldn’t change that for the world. But I kind of saw how I could make a difference in the culture here, and I’ll never go back. I love it so much. I think I’ve really found my purpose,” she said.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Gerrells praised Stroud for being “calm and effective” in her educational role.
“As a teacher in our Alternate Content Standards, her students come to school with extra challenges to overcome. However, she creates an environment where her students feel at home and successful,” Gerrells said.
“She focuses each day on the individual needs of her students and meets them where they are. She knows she can't teach them academic content unless their basic needs are met, and she makes sure to meet those needs. She puts what is truly important first, and focuses her instruction on life skills and exposure so that students who leave her class are ready to take on the world,” he continued.
Gerrells specifically noted that Stroud creates learning opportunities for students that they might not get in other settings.
“Her students are bakers, coffee makers, cashiers, accountants, mail people and more,” he said.
Stroud explained that with a grant from the Lumpkin County Education Foundation and the assistance of Striker Marketing and local photographer Austin Martin, they have been able to create a unique enterprise for her students.
“Last year we got a grant to start a coffee cart business called Javability. We sell several items to the faculty on Fridays and get to work various events. We even got to work an event where we served coffee to the state superintendent, Richard Woods,” Stroud said.
Stroud is on a mission to show how much people with special needs have to offer.
“I feel like it’s my job to give my students opportunity to show others what they can do. So I really, really focus on their strengths and building up their confidence, and other stuff will come once they’ve bought in. They can do so much more than I think they even know, and so it’s awesome seeing them get more confident and want to learn more things,” she said.

FAMILY TIME

Stroud said her favorite thing to do in her free time is to spend time with her loved ones.
“Family, since I’ve been little, has always been the most important thing,” she said.
Stroud’s husband Zack teaches and coaches football at the neighboring high school.
“We’ve been very busy this year with that, because the season turned out much longer than we even thought it could be,” she said with a smile.
Stroud said she and her husband also share a terrier mix named Bailey “that’s pretty much like our daughter.”

CHANGING ATTITUDES

Gerrells said Stroud has an authentic passion for advancing the interests of special students.
“She educates her peers, other students, and even myself on how to be more inclusive and makes our school better for everyone with disabilities,” he said.
And Stroud said she has been pleasantly surprised at the positive reception to her efforts.
“Everyone has bought in here so much, supporting us at our coffee cart or our school spirit shop, so our kids can participate in other activities throughout the school,” she said.
“I cannot say enough good things about how supportive our faculty and staff is.”
Stroud said it’s a positive sign that both she and LCHS teacher Luke Maloney were both honored for their special education work this year.
“For our programs to get so much visibility and recognition and the kids’ hard work to be recognized is amazing, and it’s just a testament to the culture that we’ve been able to create for our kids here,” she said.
Stroud was insistent that the honor really belongs to her students.
“They’re the ones who are doing all the hard work. I’m just the representative of it, I guess.”

This is the final article in a Nugget School Spotlight series highlighting the recently named Teachers of the Year.  We would like to thank system-wide winner Liz Stroud for everything she has done for Lumpkin County’s students.