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Carrie Underwood

With a mother, Carole Underwood, who taught for twenty-five years and two sisters (Stephanie Shelton and Shanna Means) who currently teach, 2009 Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year Carrie Underwood knows who the real American idols are.

“Teaching was something that ran in my family," says Carrie. "I have always admired my mother and sisters for making a difference in the lives of so many.”

Behind Every Famous Person is a Fabulous Teacher.

About Us

TeachersCount is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to raise the status of the teaching profession and provide resources to the education community.  Using a public service announcement national ad campaign and related initiatives, TeachersCount is working to create a permanent culture of teacher appreciation in the United States.  To learn more about this website, please visit the I’m Just Curious.

TeachersCount’s most visible program is the “Behind Every Famous Person is a Fabulous Teacher” Campaign—which began as a series of print public service announcements in the Time Inc. family of magazines.  Each ad features a celebrity and his or her teacher, along with a few uplifting words about teaching.  In October, 2006, First Lady Laura Bush, who posed for an ad with her favorite teacher, spoke at the official launch of the campaign in New York City.  Other famous faces in the campaign include actor America Ferrera, musician Carrie Underwood, American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault, NFL legend Steve Young, fashion designer Zac Posen and many others. Due to a large number of requests from teachers, the campaign was expanded in 2008 and poster versions of the ads were created. Jones New York In The Classroom, which underwrites the production costs of the ads, and Scholastic, which distributes the posters, are the campaign’s biggest supporters.

In addition to partnerships with Scholastic and Jones New York In The Classroom, TeachersCount also has past or present partnerships with Time Inc., McGraw-Hill, the NFL, Hallmark, Google, Marvel Entertainment, and OfficeMax, among other companies.  In each issue of Scholastic’s Instructor magazine, TeachersCount authors the Making a Difference column, which is based on the theme, “Behind every incredible kid is an inspiring teacher.”  Each article highlights a kid or group of kids that have accomplished something incredible and the teacher who helped make the success possible.

In 2006, TeachersCount worked with OfficeMax and Marvel to present the Super Hero Teacher of the Year Contest, which turned real teachers and the middle school students who nominated them into comic book characters in a special-edition Marvel comic book.  The books were distributed for free in OfficeMax stores across the nation that summer.

In addition to working to raise the status of the teaching profession, TeachersCount also provides resources to the education community, primarily via this website.  Lesson plans, information about professional development, teacher appreciation ideas, education news, editorial features, resources for prospective teachers, and a retail savings program are just a few examples of the many free resources on TeachersCount.org.