MARIETTA - Lynn McBride, a speech language pathologist at Lockheed Elementary, was named 2011 Teacher of the Year for Marietta City Schools on Monday evening.

McBride, 51, of west Cobb, put her hands to her cheeks in shock as Superintendent Dr. Emily Lembeck announced her name.

She recounted how she felt later that evening.

"As (Lembeck) started reading some of the things, she read something that I wrote, and inside of me I went, 'Oh my God.' I was thinking 'keep yourself together,' you know, 'stay together, stay together,'" McBride said.

"I think the main reason I'm so excited is because I work at such a great school, and I'm just so proud that they think enough of me to have nominated me as the Teacher of the Year. That means a lot to me. The fact that the people in my building think enough of me to put me in that position is just, it's very humbling, and it's indeed an honor. They are a superb group of teachers," said McBride, a native of Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Married to Harry McBride, the couple has a 16-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son. McBride, who has taught at Lockheed Elementary since 1985, is "one of the unsung heroes who is finally getting her song sung," said Lembeck, calling her "dedicated, motivating and inspiring."

"This is a teacher who realizes that a great responsibility is placed in an educator's hands," Lembeck said.

"This is a teacher who believes in being active in the community. This is a teacher who believes that with each new challenge comes a new reward."

McBride and 10 other Marietta teachers were recognized at the district's annual awards banquet, held at the Atlanta Marriott Northwest. More than 300 people attended the banquet.

As the district's overall Teacher of the Year, McBride received $1,000 from the Marietta School Foundation. In the fall, she will be entered in the statewide Teacher of the Year competition. That winner will be named in May 2011.

Committees at each individual school select that school's Teacher of the Year. The district winner is selected after review by a separate committee, in-class observation and an interview.

The schools' Teachers of the Year, who each received a $500 award, are: Melissa Umphlett, Burruss; Beverly Comer, Dunleith; Dawn Elliot, Hickory Hills; Nancy Dodd, Marietta Center for Advanced Academics; Barbara Hoffman, Park Street; Elizabeth Thomas, Sawyer Road; Carey Callahan, West Side; Greg Boughton, Marietta Sixth Grade Academy; Kay White, Marietta Middle; and Lt. Col. James T. Wilson, Marietta High.