CARROLLWOOD \u2014 Tracy Moore went to summer school.<\/p>\n
Even though she didn\u2019t have to. Even though it was self-imposed. As a child, Moore dreamed of being a teacher, so her teachers would give her old copies of worksheets to take home over the summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d spend hours playing \u2018school\u2019 with friends or even my toys.\u201d Moore said. \u201cAs I grew older, I considered other paths \u2014 owning a business or becoming a veterinarian \u2014 but I always found my way back to teaching. Ultimately, I wanted to help students learn, grow, and achieve their dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n
All that playtime and summer school just might be why Moore, a Ben Hill Middle School math teacher, is one of five nominees for Hillsborough County Teacher of the Year.<\/p>\n
Moore joins her fellow nominees: Davidsen Middle math teacher Melissa DeGusipe, Westchase Elementary third-grade teacher Francesa Doran, Wharton High marine science teacher Christi Atkinson and Kenly Elementary kindergarten teacher Rochelle Phillips. The Teacher of the Year winner will be announced at the Excellence in Education Awards on Jan. 22 at the Straz Center, presented by the Hillsborough Education Foundation.<\/p>\n
Leto High history teacher Henry Bryson was the 2025 winner.<\/p>\n
Moore, originally from Ohio, is a graduate of Wesley Chapel High and the University of South Florida. The mother of two also earned a degree in elementary education and exceptional student education from the University of West Florida and has been teaching at Ben Hill ever since.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy favorite part of being a teacher is having fun with my students,\u201d Moore said. \u201cMy job is to teach them algebra, help them grow into kind and respectful citizens and prepare them to navigate the world. But none of that can happen without building strong relationships \u2014 and that starts with embracing their energy and goofiness.<\/p>\n
\u201cMiddle schoolers are still kids,\u201d she added. \u201cThey need to laugh, enjoy themselves, and have a good time. I live for the moments when they make me laugh and pull me off task, because those are the days I go home smiling. Those are the days they leave remembering the math lesson \u2014 and the joy that came with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moore has had plenty of joy in her teaching career, already being named Teacher of the Year at Ben Hill. But she said she was genuinely shocked learning she was a finalist for the county\u2019s top educator.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the district team walked into my classroom to announce I had made the top five, I was speechless,\u201d Moore said. \u201cThere are no words to describe how much this recognition means to me; I\u2019m not sure it has even sunk in yet. I already feel like a winner because reaching this stage is a remarkable acknowledgment of the time, effort and dedication I pour into my students every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moore said she felt incredibly honored to be nominated by her peers, that it truly is a dream come true for someone who has always wanted to be a teacher.<\/p>\n
Looks like summer school paid off.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur district is blessed with phenomenal educators on every campus,\u201d she added, \u201cand I\u2019m fortunate to work alongside them every day. To be recognized at this level \u2014 for the work I do both inside and outside the classroom \u2014 would truly be the highest honor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWinning Hillsborough County Teacher of the Year was something I never imagined possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CARROLLWOOD \u2014 Tracy Moore went to summer school. Even though she didn\u2019t have to. Even though it was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106252,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[32142,1408,113,33193,10327,135,137,136,7331],"class_list":{"0":"post-106251","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-ben-hill-middle-school","9":"tag-carrollwood","10":"tag-education","11":"tag-hillsborough-county-public-schools","12":"tag-learning","13":"tag-tampa","14":"tag-tampa-headlines","15":"tag-tampa-news","16":"tag-teacher"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}