The Houston Independent School District has announced the finalists for the district’s Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year, as well as the recipients of the Beginning Teacher of the Year honors for elementary, middle school, and high school.
Fourteen finalists were named for the Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the year. The two winners, who will go on to represent the district in Region 4, will be announced during the Educators of the Year banquet on Friday, May 19. The 14 finalists were selected from all 287 campuses based on performance data and other criteria.
At the elementary level, the seven finalists are:
- Harriet Sandles from Reynolds Elementary
- Margaret Jernberg from Parker Elementary
- Delandra Mickens from McNamara Elementary
- Brittany Corprew from Pugh Elementary
- Alicia Perez Guevara from Barrick Elementary
- Marco Graniel Jr. from Crespo Elementary
- Kristina Lesniak from Harvard Elementary
At the secondary level, the seven finalists are:
- Melvin Lassiter III from Sterling Aviation High School
- Maqsuda Afroz from Madison High School
- Sabastian Berry from Sharpstown High School
- Nicole Walker from Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy
- Zulma Marin Cortes from Marshall Middle School
- Megan Giles from Chavez High School
- Neda Khan from DeBakey High School for Health Professions
The Beginning Teacher of the Year honors go to:
- Olivia Hooper from Mandarin Chinese Language Immersion School
- Arkadiusz Turolski from Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan
- Genry Santibanez from Austin High School
The banquet is held annually to recognize the top teachers and principals for the school year. Additionally, the HISD community will have the opportunity in the coming weeks to vote on their “Fan Favorite” for teacher, who also will be announced at the banquet.