NEWS RELEASE: SAN DIEGO UNIFIED NAMES 2021 TEACHERS OF THE YEAR

NEWS RELEASE

April 21, 2021

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SAN DIEGO UNIFIED NAMES 2021 TEACHERS OF THE YEAR

Educators from Chollas-Mead Elementary, CPMA Middle and Hoover High schools have been named San Diego Unified School District 2021 Teachers of the Year.





SAN DIEGO – Thomas Courtney from Chollas-Mead Elementary, Guadalupe Celedon from CPMA Middle School and Sharon Apple from Hoover High School have been named San Diego Unified School District's Teachers of the Year for 2021<https://sites.google.com/sandi.net/teacher-of-the-year/teachers-of-the-year/2021-teachers-of-the-year?authuser=0>.



In observance of National Teacher Appreciation Week, May 3-7, 2021<https://cutt.ly/ThankATeacher>, these three devoted educators will be honored at the Day of the Teacher celebration on Tuesday, May 4, at 5:00 p.m. during a virtual ceremony, hosted by FOX5 News Anchor Raoul Martinez. More than 250 Teachers of the Year from individual school sites, both from 2021 and 2020, District Teacher of the Year runners-up will also be honored.



Teacher of the Year candidates go through a rigorous selection process, first being selected by the staff members at their school, then a panel including former teachers of the year. San Diego Unified¹s Teachers of the Year and runners-up are eligible to apply for San Diego county Teacher of the Year, part of the process leading to the national Teacher of the Year. The county Teacher of the Year ceremony will be held this fall and is organized by the San Diego County Office of Education.



The theme for this year's Teacher of the Year celebration is "Teachers: Leading in crisis, fostering resiliency and building a Better San Diego." This theme reminds us that our Teachers have had a significant role in the resiliency of our students and our education system. Teachers are essential to ensuring we emerge from the pandemic stronger with the promise of a better tomorrow.



The Day of the Teacher celebration is a traditional event on the Board of Education calendar. All Board members and senior district staff, community leaders and elected officials are scheduled to attend. A pre-event virtual reception will feature original student-created content performed by students from San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts and Hoover High School.



This year's virtual event is co-hosted by North Island Credit Union. "We are honored to co-host the 2021 San Diego Unified School District's Teacher of the Year program that provides well deserved recognition to these exceptional educators," said North Island Credit Union President/CEO Steve O'Connell. "Serving the education community for over 85 years, we understand the commitment our teachers bring to their classrooms every day. Their dedication to their students has never been more evident, and more important, than through the challenges of the last year. We congratulate this year's award recipients and nominees, and applaud the innovative ways they have continued to inspire students."



For more information on this year's winners and on San Diego Unified's Teacher of the Year celebration, please visit: https://cutt.ly/TOY2021



Sponsors of the event are California Coast Credit Union, California Schools VEBA, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit, Mission Federal Credit Union, shoplovemo.com<https://www.shoplovemo.com/>, San Diego Education Association, San Diego Education Fund, Encore Entertainment Events.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Isabella McNeil, San Diego Unified, Teacher of the Year Coordinator, 619-341-2343