Missy Testerman served as a first and second grade teacher at Rogersville City School in Rogersville, Tennessee, for three decades before taking advantage of Tennessee’s progressive Grow Your Own initiative and adding an English as a second language (ESL) endorsement. She currently serves as the district ESL specialist and ESL program director. Testerman coordinates the system’s summer programs and is heavily involved in many programs, including being a mentor teacher and member of the teacher leadership team.

Testerman holds a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education and a Master of Arts in reading education from East Tennessee State University (ETSU). She added ESL licensure through Freed-Hardeman University, wanting to ensure that immigrant students and families had an advocate in their rural Appalachian area. Since her selection as Tennessee’s Teacher of the Year, she has forged partnerships with ETSU and the University of Tennessee to encourage pre-service teachers and give authentic feedback to university leaders about their educator preparation programs.

A staunch advocate for students, teachers and families, Testerman considers her most important job to be making certain that her education students are prepared to advocate for their limited English proficiency families. She considers her greatest contribution to her profession to be the love and desire for learning that she has instilled in countless students over the past three decades. Seeing her former students succeed in life is the basis of Testerman’s continued desire to educate the next generation and ensure they receive a broadened education while living in a rural setting.