Cobb Educator To Be Honored For Innovative Teaching In Marietta

MARIETTA, GA -- A Marietta school teacher will be honored this week for an innovative program she is implementing at a Cobb County elementary school. Monica Alicea, an educator at Cheatham Hill Elementary School, will be presented with a check for $7,000 during a surprise celebration in the school’s cafeteria.

Alicea’s innovative initiative “Serving 4 Cause, Farm 2 Table,” which focuses on hosting a dinner to benefit MUST Ministries’ “Save It Forward,” program, has gained national attention. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

She is among only 100 winners selected from more than 1,200 applications. The winners received a $2,000 award in initial funding and with Alicea winning third place in the awards, her total was boasted to $7,000.

Alicea plans to use the Voya grant to buy gardening equipment so that her students can have a direct role in growing produce that feeds Georgia families.

Voya Financial has awarded more than $5 million in grants to more than 2,000 educators across the United States since 1996.

The Cheatham Elementary School event will begin at 1 p.m. at 1350 John Ward Road, Marietta, GA 30064.

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