Alameda County Office of Education

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Teacher of the Year Archive

The ACOE is honored to recognize the 2024 Teachers of the Year named by county school districts and regional occupational programs.

Eighteen district-level honorees were selected by the 16 districts that have chosen to participate this year. The honorees are recognized for their individual dedication and excellence in the classroom, and they collectively represent the thousands of educators doing amazing work across Alameda County every day.

To navigate directly to a specific section, please click a link below.

2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 - Prior

34th Annual Award Winners - 2023

A colorful illustration featuring a schoolhouse, children, and the text 'Drawing Out Our Students' Best' with the 2023 Alameda County Teacher of the Year Awards.

Event Photos Event Videos

Honoree	District	School
Constance Jones	Alameda County Office of Education	ACOE Court & Community Schools
Jessica Kerber	Alameda Unified School District	Encinal Jr/Sr High School
Claire Heppner	Castro Valley Unified School District	Castro Valley High School
Chelsie Avila	Dublin Unified School District	John Green Elementary School
Heather Bystrom	Eden Area Regional Occupational Program
Kimberley Miller	Emery Unified School District	Anna Yates Elementary
Rachel Brown	Fremont Unified School District	Mission San Jose Elementary School
Paula "Janette" Johnson	Hayward Unified School District	Bret Harte Middle School
Irene Lucero	Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District	East Avenue Middle School
Masiha Farooq	Mission Valley Regional Occupational Program
Leda Mares	New Haven Unified School District	Searles Elementary School
Stephanie Schubert	Newark Unified School District	Birch Grove Intermediate
Niesha Johnson	Oakland Unified School District	Chabot Elementary School
Sean Gleason	Oakland Unified School District	Rudsdale High School
Kevin Kiyoi	Pleasanton Unified School District	Amador Valley High School
Lisa Wong	San Leandro Unified School District	San Leandro High School
Joel Gonzales	San Lorenzo Unified School District	Arroyo High School
Randy Barnard	Tri-Valley Regional Occupational Program

Honoree	District	School
Masiha Farooq	Mission Valley Regional Occupational Program
Leda Mares	New Haven Unified School District	Searles Elementary School
Stephanie Schubert	Newark Unified School District	Birch Grove Intermediate
Niesha Johnson	Oakland Unified School District	Chabot Elementary School
Sean Gleason	Oakland Unified School District	Rudsdale High School
Kevin Kiyoi	Pleasanton Unified School District	Amador Valley High School
Lisa Wong	San Leandro Unified School District	San Leandro High School
Joel Gonzales	San Lorenzo Unified School District	Arroyo High School
Randy Barnard	Tri-Valley Regional Occupational Program

33rd Annual Award Winners - 2022

A compass sits on a map with the text 'Mapping the Path to Success' and the date 'October 6, 2022'.

Video Showcase

Honoree	District	School
Matt Campbell	Alameda County Office of Education	Butler Academic Center
Veronica Rylander	Alameda Unified School District	Lincoln Middle School
Nancy Galloway	Castro Valley Unified School District	Jensen Ranch Elementary School
Ramany Kaplan	Dublin Unified School District	Dublin High School
Daniel Pareja	Eden Area Regional Occupational Program
Illona Rhodes	Emery Unified School District	Anna Yates Elementary
Christy Taylor	Fremont Unified School District	Cabrillo Elementary School
Sarah Reavis	Hayward Unified School District	Eden Gardens Elementary School
Jeanne Gellerman	Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District	Arroyo Seco Elementary School
Jonathan Sabagan	Mission Valley Regional Occupational Program	Newark Memorial High School
Shaun Fuller	Newark Unified School District	Musick Elementary School
Michelle Chu	Oakland Unified School District	Lockwood STEAM Academy
Shartresa Nixon	Oakland Unified School District	United For Success Academy
Floresa Vaughn	Oakland Unified School District	McClymonds High School
Arick Little	Pleasanton Unified School District	Pleasanton Virtual Academy
Sean Cavanaugh	San Leandro Unified School District	Wilson Elementary School
Julie Wolfe	San Lorenzo Unified School District	Grant Elementary School
Fabiola Salceda	Tri-Valley Regional Occupational Program	Foothill High School

32nd Annual Award Winners - 2021

An open book with a glowing light, the words 'Turning the Page' and '2021 Alameda County Teacher of the Year Awards' are visible, with a blurred bookshelf in the background.

Honoree	District	School
Lori Thelen	Alameda County Office of Education	Quest & EMERGE Academics
Elisa Correia-Dasalla	Castro Valley Unified School District	Castro Valley Adult & Career Education
Lilia Tsui	Dublin Unified School District	Frederiksen Elementary School
Cheryl Grixti	Eden Area Regional Occupational Program
Ashante Smith	Emery Unified School District	Anna Yates Elementary
Thalia McNeil-Smith	Hayward Unified School District	Brenkwitz High School
Christopher Filice	Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District	Livermore High School
Chef Christopher Skrocke	Mission Valley Regional Occupational Program	Newark Memorial High School
Catherine Scheving	Newark Unified School District	Schilling Elementary School
Chantel Parnell	Oakland Unified School District	Bret Harte Middle School
Jessica Jung	Oakland Unified School District	Bridges Academy
Whitney Dwyer	Oakland Unified School District	Met West High School
Russel Sato	Pleasanton Unified School District	Village High School
Erica Viray Santo	San Leandro Unified School District	San Leandro High School
Sue Guinee -Posthumous	San Lorenzo Unified School District	Arroyo High School
Christopher Wheeler	Sunol Glen Unified	Sunol Glen School
Diana Hasenpflug	Tri-Valley Regional Occupational Program	Amador Valley High School

2019-Prior Honorees

Paola Walker – Alameda County Office of Education
Pauline Stahl – Alameda Unified School District
Joshua Theo Wheeler – Castro Valley Unified School District
Jason Ewing – Dublin Unified School District
David Espinoza – Eden Area Regional Occupational Program
Leslie Nuru Epstein – Emery Unified School District
Saroda Chattopadhyay – Fremont Unified School District
Mia Buljan – Hayward Unified School District
Megan Clappin Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District
Jay E. Crawford – Mission Valley Regional Occupational Program
Joanne Hong – Newark Unified School District
David Ramirez – Oakland Unified School District
Precious James – Oakland Unified School District
Tontra Love – Oakland Unified School District
Tessie Gonsalves – Pleasanton Unified School District
Kathleen Maier – San Leandro Unified School District
Jess Vaughn – San Lorenzo Unified School District
Chris Meyer – Tri-Valley Regional Occupational Program
George Hoss – Alameda County Office of Education, Butler Academic Center
Mary Otieku -Alameda Unified School District, Bay Farm School
Barbara Andersen – Castro Valley Unified School District, Castro Valley High School
Catherine Brown – Dublin Unified School District, Frederiksen Elementary School
Michelle Stephens – Eden Area Regional Occupational Program, Eden Area ROP Center
Tiffany Johnson – Emery Unified School District, Anna Yates Elementary School
Sherea Westra – Fremont Unified School District, Niles Elementary School
Kyle Howard – Hayward Unified School District, Hayward High School
Elizabeth Perez – Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District, Arroyo Seco Elementary School
Dhana Uppula – Mission Valley Regional Occupational Program, James Logan High School
Legratta Banks, – New Haven Unified School District, Tom Kitayama Elementary School
Timothy Hess, – Newark Unified School District, Newark Memorial High School
Cassandra Chen – Oakland Unified School District, United for Success Academy
- Micaela Morse – Oakland Unified School District, International Community School
Jah-Yee Woo – Oakland Unified School District , Oakland Technical High School
Arlene Simpelo – Pleasanton Unified School District, Lydiksen Elementary School
oanna Chapman – San Leandro Unified School District, McKinley Elementary School
Ann Villegas – San Lorenzo Unified School District, Hillside Elementary School
Kelly Mogilefsky – Tri-Valley Regional Occupational Program, Las Positas College

Teacher of the Year Archive

34th Annual Award Winners - 2023

33rd Annual Award Winners - 2022

32nd Annual Award Winners - 2021

2019-Prior Honorees

30th Annual Award Winners - 2019

29th Annual Award Winners - 2018