Killeen ISD will award teachers of the year for elementary and secondary schools this May in a surprise announcement in a totally revamped format.
Each school has chosen their teacher of the year representative.
Those campus-level teachers of the year recently sat for their official portraits and district leaders will be completing classroom visits as the district prepares to make the big announcement in a variety of media venues.
The two district-level honorees will represent KISD in the Region 12 teacher of the year process, with a chance to move on to state and national levels.
Four years ago was the last time KISD gathered its 50-plus teachers of the year for an exciting reveal in a traditional setting at the Killeen Civic and Conference Center.
In 2020, the event was cancelled.
In 2021, KISD conducted two virtual events to honor teachers of the year from two school years in the midst of COVID-19 restrictions. Last year, KISD honored teachers of the year virtually again.
Back in 2019, Clifton Park music teacher Shannon Gallinger and Early College High School math teacher Marc Jones received teacher of the year honors.
Two years later, in April 2021, KISD leaders surprised Palo Alto teacher Elise Kea and Skipcha Elementary teacher Lisa Stewart at their homes in a live virtual event.
A month later, KISD surprised two more teachers at their homes as teachers of the year for 2020-2021. Those were Cedar Valley fifth-grade teacher James Cook and Manor Middle School special education teacher Tracy King.
Last year, KISD honored Elementary Teacher of the Year Evelyn Joseph of Cavazos and Secondary Teacher of the Year Kelly Berg of the Career Center in a live virtual event.
This year, the district is once again honoring top teachers. Surprise visits are planned and the big announcements will be made in the early part of May.
The photo gallery of this year’s campus teachers of the year is at the following:
https://www.killeenisd.org/toy23
The honorees for the current school year include the following:
ELEMENTARY teachers of the year 2023
Toishema Holley (Douse), Antoinette Yuille (Brookhaven), Adrianne Ortiz (Cedar Valley), Amber Johnson (Clarke), Pauline Harvey (Clear Creek), Sarah Barnum (Clifton Park), Omar Esson (Fowler), Shawnette Simmons (Harker Heights), Shelesa Mixon (Hay Branch), Nelisha Dukes (Haynes), Melissa Ochoa (Iduma), Lezah McArthur (Ira Cross),
Jessica Harris (Killeen), Teresa Barlow (Maude Moore Wood), Nakita Varner (Maxdale), Gena-A Salvati (Meadows), Indira Smith (Montague Village), Allison Widacki (Mountain View), Tara Lomba (Nolanville), Deborah McJimsey (Hobby), Calvin Payno (Carney), Rosabelle Montero (Peebles), Marlene Kong (Pershing Park), Jennifer Holcomb (Reeces Creek), Noris Garagate (Cavazos), Michelle Dewees (Saegert), Jasmine Gaines (Skipcha), Kenneth Whitehead (Timber Ridge), Mariana Hernandez-Barraza (Trimmier), Rochelle Peters (Venable Village) and Corina Sendejo (Willow Springs).
SECONDARY teachers of the year 2023
Angela Elliott (Audie Murphy), Debbie Rodriguez-Naoe (Patterson), Ruth Constancio (Eastern Hills), Janice Fischbach (Gateway Middle), Robert Roemer (Liberty Hill), April Mason (Live Oak Ridge), John Nelson (Manor), Jason Fredette (Nolan), Shatira Harris (Palo Alto), Marcie Thibodeaux (Rancier), Nadine Brown (Smith), Omar Laboy (Union Grove),
Amy Key (Ellison), Jared Kloeker (Chaparral), Melissa Franks (Early College), Blake Harrup (Gateway High), Lucas Leavitt (Harker Heights), Jimmy Hammond (Killeen), Sarah Crawford (Career Center), Angela Clayton (Pathways) and Ari Lezovich (Shoemaker).
