Michelle Gross

Michelle Gross is a seventh grade math teacher and teaches a gifted studies course called The Academy at Spencer County Middle School in Taylorsville, Kentucky. She is the 2026 Kentucky Teacher of the Year and a finalist for the 2026 National Teacher of the Year, and she is a National Board Certified Teacher in Early Adolescence Mathematics.
Michelle is passionate about creating classrooms where students take ownership of their learning. Using structures from the Modern Classroom Project, she designs learning experiences that allow students to move through content with self-paced and self-directed learning, using blended instruction, mastery checks, and targeted support. This model allows Michelle to spend more time working one-on-one with students and helping them build both confidence and independence in mathematics.
She also loves creating real-world learning experiences that make math meaningful. One of her students’ favorite projects is the Dream House Project, where students design their future homes by creating blueprints, calculating dimensions, and building scale models that they present to local professionals.
Michelle believes learning should extend beyond the classroom walls, so she frequently connects students with community members, professionals, and former students to help them see how the skills they’re learning today connect to future opportunities.
Outside the classroom, Michelle is the wife of Mike and the proud mom of Micah, and she credits her family, school, and community for continually inspiring her work as an educator.