Past Teacher of the Year Winners

Gail Gregory is a second-grade teacher at Hilton Elementary School with more than 30 years of experience in the Zillah School District. She was selected from a pool of 46 nominees across South Central Washington. “Gail’s impact goes beyond the classroom,” said Brittany Kaple. “She’s been a consistent presence in her students’ lives and a respected mentor to her colleagues.”

Known for creating a welcoming, respectful classroom environment, Gregory has built strong relationships with students and families throughout her career. Many former students return to visit her years later, bringing their own children or partners to meet the teacher who left a lasting impression early in their education.

Gregory has also played a key role in supporting professional learning at Hilton Elementary. Long before PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) became widely implemented, she was already collaborating with peers to strengthen instruction and build a positive school culture. As a mentor to new teachers, she offers more than advice; she offers encouragement, perspective, and a steady presence. Her colleagues often describe her as someone they turn to for both professional insight and genuine care. Gail’s commitment to growing not only her own practice, but the practice of those around her, has helped shape a school environment grounded in teamwork, trust, and continuous learning.

In recent years, Gregory has adapted her approach to meet the changing needs of families. Recognizing that many parents have limited availability to volunteer in classrooms, she’s developed new ways to engage them in their children’s learning, prioritizing accessibility and flexibility while maintaining strong connections between home and school.

Gregory’s recognition reflects not only the strength of her work, but the broader commitment of educators working in schools across ours state. As Kaple shared during the event, “This award celebrates one individual, but it also highlights the incredible work happening every day in classrooms across our region.”
 

Our 2024 Regional Teacher of the Year was Lauren Thomas, a high school ELA teacher from Toppenish School District. 

As a daughter of two educators, she learned early in life that the role of a teacher  is one of service over self. She shows up to work every day, ready to do just that, putting her needs behind those of her students and her colleagues. Her passion to help students reach their highest aspirations was evident in every question we asked as well as in the moments we were able to observe her with her students . She did not just ask questions hoping for specific answers, but rather she proved to be a master at guiding her students to discovering the answers on their own. The respect her students have for her was evident, as was her love for her students and for her profession. 

Ms. Thomas is an educator who is looking beyond today into what students contribute to our future, always encouraging them to have their own voice and showing them how to use their voice to advocate for themselves and for their communities. She often collaborates with other Toppenish organizations to bring community service projects into the classroom, giving her students real world experiences and connections. 

Schedules are busy, but Lauren finds time to not only teach her students, but to learn from them as well. During her interview with our panel of judges Ms. Thomas stated, “It took me a long time to learn that our kids, many of them, support their family. This was the most eye opening… It has changed how I have seen my own students in the classroom. This showed me the real need to focus on mental health.” Lauren shows her students that they are valued as individuals, always encouraging them to share their stories, while incorporating their cultures into her lesson planning. 

As an advocate for education, Ms. Thomas hopes to support the reformation of our standardized testing practices, ensuring a focus on differentiated learning styles. She also hopes to reach other educators with a simple, but powerful message, “Remember that every student is unique, and there’s always a reason to know about their background. It is our job to find the reason and meet them with what they need.”  Lauren is a teacher, leader, mentor, advocate and friend to many. 

Mrs. Brink helps students find their passion and then provides them with the support, resources and care they need to turn this passion into a profession. Mrs. Brink teaches family and consumer science courses, specifically focusing on offerings that prepare students to be our next generation of educators. As a member of Selah School District’s CTE (Career Technology Education) program, Mrs. Brink, “has played an instrumental role in helping [Selah High School] create and develop pathways for students”, including an Early Childhood Education Pathway.

Her passion for education is contagious. A letter of recommendation for this award was written by one of Mrs. Brink’s students, a senior this year, who says of her, “She is the teacher everyone wants to be or wants to have. There is nothing she can’t do…. She pushes her students to try their hardest and is understanding of the fact that we have bad days and emotions that we are learning how to deal with… I have learned so much about how to take care of not only myself,  but others…. I want to become a teacher one day…. Mrs. Brink is relatable and honest. She has told us about her experiences growing up being low income and the first in her family to graduate high school and to go to college. She makes me feel like if she can do it, so can I.” 

In a time when recruiting new teachers is becoming harder and harder, the work Mrs. Brink is doing daily in her program is paramount to the success of our public school system.  Mrs. Brink inspires her students through her own dedication to the craft, but she doesn’t stop there. Mrs. Brink removes barriers to ensure her students are successful beyond the K-12 system. She has helped establish systems that provide her students with the opportunity to earn First Aid certification and paraeducator credits for free so that when they leave Selah High School, they have the experience and certifications needed to jump right into the local education workforce. 

Mrs. Brink is a teacher, leader, mentor, advocate and friend to many. We are thrilled to recognize her with our 2023 Regional Teacher of the Year award. As our regional recipient, Mrs. Brink will advance to OSPI’s statewide Teacher of the Year competition. We invite you to join us in congratulating Mrs. Brink!!

Our other three nominees for this year’s Teacher of the Year award are listed below: 

Julie Byers | Wapato School District | 6th Grade Social Studies Teacher

Kristin Trease | Mount Adams School District | 9-12th Grade English & History Teacher

Renee Berger| West Valley School District | 6th Grade Humanities Teacher

ESD 105 Regional Teacher of the Year for 2021-2022:

-Randi Krieg- 

 Agriscience teacher  Goldendale Middle School Goldendale School District

Randi Krieg has helped Goldendale students harvest numerous statewide and national achievements in the school district's Future Farmers of America program since joining the middle school's staff in 2015.  Krieg primarily teaches 7th grade science through a natural resources framework that promotes career and technical education.  Since helping start the middle school's FFA chapter, numerous middle and high school students at Goldendale have participated in projects that have advanced to FFA recognition at the national level.  Goldendale's FFA chapter was also a top 10 national finalist -- out of 2,013 activities submitted nationally -- for an FFA recruitment program that awarded gold stars on individual locker jackets for each FFA event that Goldendale FFA members attended.  Through her leadership, about 125 of the 400 middle and high school students at Goldendale participate in FFA.  Krieg also interacted with the manager of Goldendale's city swimming pool on having her students propose a solution to killdeer birds that were laying eggs in the pool's parking lot, and has regularly led students to volunteer in soup kitchen service and in mitten drives. 

"As a career and technical education teacher, it is my responsibility to ensure students practice 21st century skills.  Instruction must integrate opportunities for my students to communicate their thinking, collaborate in their learning, think critically about the subject matter, and apply creativity when developing solutions."

Davis High School Spanish teacher (previously Washington Middle School Newcomer Center teacher) - Yakima School District
In her six years at Washington Middle School, Megan Anderson-Reilly guided significant impacts to promote language development programs for native Hispanic students.  She started Washington Middle School's Newcomer Center in 2017, and conducted numerous professional development sessions for staff on best practices for educating English language learners.  She originally taught at YSD as a teacher of physical science and biology for ELL students during 2003-2007 before returning to the school district after teaching in Mexico and Yakima Valley Community College.  
Read more about Stephanie King on page 3 of our Fall 2020 "Class" newsletter.
"I believe educators must be leaders in promoting equity for our students.  Equity involves putting systems in place so that every student has a chance to succeed." 

Granger High School English teacher - Granger School District
Stephanie King began her teaching career in 2010 at Granger High School and has been an active trailblazer in developing connections to expand learning improvement and new opportunities for Granger's students.  She switched to a college-level text about Washington migrant farmworkers in order to more strongly connect classroom instruction to her students' families and cultures.  She connected Granger's students to College in the High School courses for the first time through a program with the University of Washington in 2014.  She's connected teachers throughout the state to new professional development by her role with the state leadership team for Bridge to College.  She's also connected students to the Granger Historical Society by having them write family histories for that group's books on local history, connected the school's students to new academic opportunities by developing the high school's first Knowledge Bowl team, and connects kids to athletic involvment as girls soccer team coach.  
Read more about Stephanie King on page 2 of our Fall 2019 "Class" newsletter.
"All students are good at something.  It is our job as educators to tap into what they excel in and use that to our advantage."

White Swan High School science teacher - Mt. Adams School District
Michael Clinton began his teaching career in 2012 at White Swan High School and is known for promoting instructional methods and activities that emphasize inquiry-based learning for his students.  He developed an articulation agreement that allows his biology and chemistry students to earn college credits through Heritage University, and has taken students to tribal lands along the Columbia River as part of the "People of the Big River" field class to learn about tribal issues related to science.  He also developed White Swan's Freshman Seminar lass, and advises the school's Knowledge Bowl team.
Read more about Michael Clinton on page 2 of our Fall 2018 "Class" newsletter.
"Personal connections to the content help students engage and stay engaged with the content.  If done intentionally and consistently, students start to see the connections for themselves and eventually they want to learn more about the world around them."

Mt. Adams School District - 7th-12th math coach and 9th grade algebra teacher
Jennifer Tenney was hired as an elementary math specialist and 7th-8th math teacher at Mt. Adams in 2008, then became a 7th-12th math coach and 9th grade algebra teacher in 2015.  Shortly after she re-introduced 8th grade algebra classes to Mt. Adams in 2012, she was able to get more than 61% of her students to pass the end-of-course exam that's usually taken by 9th graders.  She also led district work in implementing culturally-relevant math curriculum for 7th-9th grade, and addressed school attendance issues with a lesson she developed in which students used school GPA information and current attendance rates as a way to show how math concepts can be used to predict events, such as their future GPAs.
Read more about Jennifer on page 2 of our Fall 2017 "Class" newsletter.
"Math is not an unreachable mystery, but a powerful tool that can help students develop tenacity to persevere in the face of adversity.

Jose Corona started his teaching career at Toppenish's Kirkwood Elementary School in 1996.  There, he designed literacy center rotations and daily individual student conferences in writing for his students, developed math centers for the school, created grade-level math homework packets for Kirkwood's students, and mentored new teachers at the school.  He also taught English classes for the parents of Kirwood's students.  The 1991 graduate of Sunnyside High Schoo took science classes from his immediate predecessor as the ESD 105 Regional Teacher of the Year, Joyce Stark. 
Read more about Jose on page 5 of our Fall 2016 "Class" newsletter.
"Adversity should not be an excuse that impedes growth.  It should serve as the catalyst for advancement.  I relay to students that one should not quit when things get difficult but, rather, persevere."

Joyce Stark began her teaching career at Sunnyside's schools in 1977, initially as a middle and junior high earth and physical science teacher before moving to teach at the high school in 2001.  There, she incorporated science research programs into her classes, including an option for students to obtain credit for research conducted after schools or during evenings and weekends.  Stark was also recognized for her 33 years of service as the director of the Mid-Columbia Regional Science Fair for 6th-12th grade students from 14 counties throughout central and eastern Washington.
"I believe that to learn science, students must do science.  I enjoy seeing students making discoveries on their own, learning from their mistakes, and working as scientists."

Spencer Martin translated his experiences as a machinist's mate during his 20-year career in the U.S. Navy into teaching young people lessons about science, math, and engineering when he started his second career as a teacher at Sunnyside High school in 2006.  He developed the high school's strand of classes in robotics, applied physics, and aerospace engineering, then launched Sunnyside's chapter of the Technology Student Association.  Spencer even added an early morning section of his engineering course in order to help meet student demand.  Read more about Spencer on page 3 of our Fall 2014 "Class" newsletter! 
"I believe that the key to impacting your youth is working together as a cohesive team, and working across curriculum lines. This will show our students the importance of each subject."

Josh Schlegel helped guide the dramatic upswing in student math scores at Harrison Middle School, which has rocketed up into the top 4% in the Washington Achievement Index for math after being ranked in the bottom 14% just a few years ago.  Since becoming math coach in 2009 and helping rewrite the school's math curriculum, achievement of state math standards have tripled to 60% among 7th graders, have more than doubled from 25% to 57% among 6th graders, and have nearly doubled from 25% to 42% among 8th graders. 
"Together, we can achieve unprecedented success.  Together, our capacity is limitless.  Together, we are destined for greatness.  Together, we are champions."

2013 Washington State Teacher of the Year

2013 National Teacher of the Year

Jeff Charbonneau began teaching science at Zillah High School in 2001. He created the Zillah Robot Challenge, co-created Zillah's Leopard Pathfinders hiking program, and offers his students up to 24 college credits through his high school classes. Learn more about Jeff Charbonneau in our article on his selection as Washington State Teacher of the Year (page 3) and our article on his selection as National Teacher of the Year.  Watch his announcement on YouTube as the 2013 Washington State Teacher of the Year and his announcement at the White House as the 2013 National Teacher of the Year!

"I firmly believe we are a nation of succeeding schools. It is time that the real message of education is shared, that the students of public educators in the United States of America have some of the best opportunities to succeed." Excerpt from Jeff Charbonneau's acceptance speech at the White House Rose Garden

"I believe in learning alongside my students and learning from other teachers.  I believe in laughter in my classroom and in the workplace because if you are not enjoying what you are doing, then you are doing the wrong thing.  Life is too short not to give and expect the best and that is what my students, parents, and colleagues deserve."

"I like the connecting with the kids, the connecting with parents, and connecting with my colleagues in the hallways. When connections occur, bells ring."

"It is so rewarding to watch our students learn to read. They are so excited, which motivates them to read more. When they realize they have mastered something difficult, it gives them confidence to continue, knowing they can do it."

"The best part about being a teacher is when students have that realization of understanding and new growth, no matter where they are. It's the 'aha moment' they have as they move along on that growth. They learn that what they do matters, and that the world needs them." 

"I thoroughly enjoy diagnosing reading difficulties, developing a plan for remediation, then watching students thrive as they unlock the secret of successful reading."

"Second grade is the best ever!  The kids have a joy for learning.  They're sponges -- just very eager to learn.  It's a perfect grade."

Whitney Elementary School (Yakima School District) — 3rd grade teacher
"One of the joys of teaching is creating a classroom community where the enthusiasm, interest, and learning are contagious."

Mabton Junior and Senior High Schools — English teacher
Tamara was also one of four finalists for National Teacher of the Year.

Harriet Thompson Elementary (Grandview) — 4th grade teacher
"I get to go to school each day and look forward to opening the door to 28 special and unique young individuals."

2002-2003 ESD 105 Regional Teacher of the Year

Alix Carlson
Arthur Smith Elementary (Grandview) — Elementary math specialist

2001-2002 ESD 105 Regional Teacher of the Year

Julie Wysong
Harriet Thompson Elementary (Grandview) — 2nd grade teacher

2000-2001 ESD 105 Regional Teacher of the Year

Sandy Jetton
Naches Valley High School — English teacher

1999-2000 ESD 105 Regional Teacher of the Year

Dave Carlile
Zillah School District — Music teacher

1998-1999 ESD 105 Regional Teacher of the Year

[ESD 105 does not have this information in our files.  If you can provide information on who was selected as the Regional Teacher of the Year during the fall of 1998, please contact us!]

1998 Washington State Teacher of the Year 
1997-1998 ESD 105 Regional Teacher of the Year

Yvonne Ullas
Naches Valley Primary School — 1st grade teacher 

1996-1997 ESD 105 Regional Teacher of the Year

Vance Jennings
Naches Valley High School — English and drama teacher 

[ESD 105 is seeking further details on other Regional Teacher of the Year honorees prior to the fall of 1996.  If you have information, please contact us!]

1977 Washington State Teacher of the Year

Dan Zeutenhorst
Yakima School District

1974 Washington State Teacher of the Year

Robert Tormey
West Valley School District