Biography

Cicely Woodard has been an educator for over 17 years. She currently teaches high school mathematics at Kickapoo High School in Springfield Public Schools in Springfield, Missouri. She previously taught at Freedom Middle School in Franklin Special School District and various schools in the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools District, including West End Middle School and Rose Park Magnet Middle School. Cicely is the 2018 Tennessee Teacher of the Year, a 2019 Horace Mann Award Winner for Teaching Excellence, and the 2019 NEA Member Benefits Award for Teaching Excellence Winner. Cicely’s students learn mathematics content through relevant contexts by working in small groups, explaining their thinking in whole class discussions, using manipulatives, and writing about mathematics. Driven by her belief that all students deserve qualified teachers, Cicely has served as an adjunct instructor at Vanderbilt University and Lipscomb University, partnered with the Tennessee Education Association to offer Praxis preparation sessions, mentored student teachers, facilitated professional learning, and is featured in an Ayers Institute for Teacher Learning and Innovation video and podcast. Cicely has had the opportunity to inform state-level education policy as a member of the Tennessee Teacher Advisory Council, the Tennessee Assessment Taskforce, the State Collaborative on Reforming Education Steering Committee, the Missouri Assessments Framework Review Committee, and as a speaker at numerous conferences. Cicely earned a B.S. in mathematics from the University of Memphis, an M.Ed. in secondary education from Vanderbilt University, and a Doctor of Education in Learning Organizations and Strategic Change from Lipscomb University. She is certified in secondary mathematics education.