Christina Wellford-Scott
Christina Wellford-Scott, upper school English teacher and alumna of Hutchison School in Memphis, TN, has been announced as the inaugural Teacher of the Year award recipient from Tennessee Shakespeare Company (TSC). She was honored at the TSC's Jack Jones Children’s Literacy Gala on April 22.
As a 28-year veteran teacher, Wellford-Scott currently teaches Heritage of Western Literature and AP English Literature and Composition to around 90 seniors at Hutchison School, an independent college-preparatory school for girls. “I was shocked, but I am flattered and thrilled to receive this award,” Christina Wellford-Scott said. “Shakespeare has made me realize that I have a mission to teach at an all-girls school. I feel like it’s a calling to educate girls and women for serious lives.” She regularly teaches her two favorite plays, "Hamlet" and "King Lear,” and is also a skilled actor across Memphis stages, including TSC.
Tennessee Shakespeare Company is the first and only professional, not-for-profit theatre and education organization in Memphis dedicated to live, diverse performances of William Shakespeare’s plays and other works, as well as providing innovative education, training, and outreach programming. “When we get Hutchison students from Christina’s classes in our performances at TSC, the IQ and attention in the theater skyrockets,” said Dan McCleary, TSC founder and producing artistic director. “She is a willing collaborator, a caring mentor, a sharp mind, and a literary scholar.”
As a classroom teacher, Wellford-Scott has taught courses in acting, music history, film history, women’s studies, biblical history, and all areas of English literature, including creative writing, American literature, British literature, and world literature. The criteria for selection of the award include: promoting the study of Shakespeare, providing live Shakespeare performance opportunities for their students, and advocating for the arts and their vitality in schools.
TSC aims to celebrate educators who are lifelong learners that continue to discover ways to strengthen their knowledge, skills, and offerings in the classroom and those who lead with empathy and compassion, fostering a safe, open, and inclusive learning environment where students feel inspired to take creative risks.
The gala included an award presentation, remarks by Wellford-Scott, and performances on stage by TSC’s professional actors, curated from classics she selected. To learn more about the Tennessee Shakespeare Company Teacher of the Year Award, visit tnshakespeare.org.