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Meet the 22 semifinalists for Colorado Teacher of the Year
Ann Schimke, Chalkbeat
Jun 5, 2025 at 5:21pm EDT
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Semifinalists for Colorado’s 2026 Teacher of the Year competition were selected from a record-breaking pool of 419 applicants and hail from 17 school districts and two charter schools.
The Colorado Department of Education announced the 22 semifinalists Thursday.
A spokesperson for the department said the state competition was modified to add a semifinalist round for the first time this year. The second phase of the contest includes additional essay questions. Five to seven finalists will be named in September and the Teacher of the Year award will be announced in October.
The winner will represent Colorado in the national Teacher of the Year competition. They will also serve on the Commissioner’s Teachers Cabinet statewide advisory panel, and act as an ambassador for the profession for the next year. The current Colorado Teacher of the Year is Janet Damon, a history teacher at DELTA High School in Denver.
The 22 semifinalists for the 2026 title are split about equally between elementary and secondary teachers. Three districts — Denver, Jeffco, and Mesa County Valley — have two semifinalists each. There are also finalists from some of Colorado’s smallest school districts, including the 144-student Revere district and the 47-student Campo district.
The semifinalists are:
Julie Ahrens, kindergarten, Twin Peaks Classical Academy (authorized by St. Vrain Valley Schools)
Artemio Baltazar, first grade, Grand Valley Center for Family Learning in Garfield County School District No. 16
Sarah Bayer, science, Polaris Expeditionary Learning School in Poudre School District
Jessica Bell, seventh grade literacy, Denver Green School Northfield in Denver Public Schools
Kevin Brown, second grade, Red Rocks Elementary School in Jeffco Public Schools
Liz Fitzgerald, first grade, Mesa View Elementary in Mesa County Valley School District 51
Emily Gaytan, first grade, Centennial Elementary School in Harrison School District 2
Malynda (Mindy) Green, math, social studies, and STEAM, Revere School in Revere School District
Elisamaria Heredia, multilingual education, Alamosa Elementary School 3-5 in Alamosa School District
Brittney Isom, fifth grade, Genoa-Hugo School in Genoa-Hugo School District
Teri Kopack, English, Durango High School in Durango School District
Stephanie LaCount, English language arts, Grand Junction High School in Mesa County Valley School District 51
Julie Milam, science, Cañon City High School (CCHS) in Cañon City Schools
Julie Naski Roman, literacy, math, and special education, Carson Elementary School in Denver Public Schools
Stephen Paulson, social studies and AVID, Greeley Central High School in Greeley-Evans School District 6
Tyler David Philipsen, English and video production, Coronado High School in Colorado Springs School District 11
Gayathri Ramkumar, math, Aurora Central High School in Aurora Public Schools
Diana Remick, science and gifted and talented, La Junta Primary School in East Otero School District
Sabra Sowell-Lovejoy, social studies, Campo High School in Campo School District
Elizabeth Rose Tarbutton, math, Peak to Peak Charter School (authorized by Boulder Valley School District)
Kendall Van Valkenburg, English, Red Canyon High School in Eagle County School District
León Vásquez, seventh grade science, Drake Middle School in Jeffco Public Schools
Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2025/06/05/22-semifinalists-for-2026-colorado-teacher-of-the-year-award-announced/