It’s the biggest night in education for Yuma County.
Today, hundreds of educators will be gathering at the Yuma Civic Center for the 39th Annual Teacher of the Year Banquet.
This event, put on by the Education Foundation of Yuma County and the Yuma Rotary Club, honors outstanding educators in the community. Each year, principals nominate a teacher and the process kicks off with essays, videos and interviews before the finalists are selected.
There are three finalists for four categories:
Primary (Pre-K - 3rd Grade)
- Claudia Alvarez, C.W. McGraw Elementary School
- Hannah Martinez, Palmcroft Elementary School
- Martha Vasquez, Pecan Grove Elementary School
Intermediate/Special Area (4th - 6th Grade)
- Fauna Bushong, Wellton Elementary School
- Teresa Teeter, Alice Byrne Elementary School
- Loran Tyler, James B. Rolle Elementary School
Middle School/Junior High (6th - 8th Grade)
- Jonathan Bailey, Gila Vista Junior High School
- McKenna Casas, Ron Watson Middle School
- Karlynsia Terrazas, Fourth Avenue Junior High School
High School (9th - 12th Grade)
- Gregory Brown, Gila Ridge High School
- Eric Frost, Kofa High School
- Mark Van Voorst, Somerton High School
Each category winner will receive a trophy along with a voucher for 3 credit hours from Northern Arizona University-Yuma, a $100 Staples gift card, a $500 ELITE MedSpa + Wellness gift card and a six month 4th Ave Gym membership.
After the category winners are announced, the grand title of Teacher of the Year will finally be awarded. The winner will receive a voucher for 3 credit hours from NAU-Yuma, a $100 Staples gift card, a $1,000 ELITE MedSpa + Wellness gift card, a 12 month 4th Ave Gym membership and a seven day trip for two to Hawaii.
Alongside these awards, special recognitions will be given to teacher of the year honorees from Arizona Western College and NAU-Yuma as well as the Yuma County Education Hall of Fame's Estelle Dingess Award recipient.
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Reporting for this article is supported by a grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation.
