Tag Archives: Elementary Teachers

Susan Dixon, President Emerita of the California Retired Teachers Association, garners prestigious DKG award

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Susan Dixon, Past President of the California retired Teachers Association, garnered a prestigious award from Delta Kappa Gamma (DKG). Photo credit: DKG

There are many excellent educators who dedicate their considerable talent and energy towards the betterment of conditions of others. One of these is Susan Dixon, a retired elementary school teacher from California who was instrumental in increasing the monthly incomes of many of her fellow teachers.

After her retirement from the classroom, Susan became active in the California Retired Teachers Association (CalRTA). Among her other responsibilities in the organization, she served as the state President from 2023 to 2025 and as the President-Elect from 2021 to 2023. In these positions, she worked tirelessly to repeal legislation that prevented educators in California, and in several other states, from collecting Social Security benefits they had rightfully earned. Previously, laws restricted these educators from collecting their Social Security paychecks because they were already receiving a pension from the California State Teachers Retirement System. Once the legislation was passed, Susan participated in two national press conferences and was invited by President Joe Biden to attend the signing of the new bill in Washington, DC, on January 5, 2025.

As a result of her activism on behalf of the retired teachers, Susan garnered a prestigious award from Delta Kappa Gamma (DKG), an international professional organization for women educators. The award she garnered, the 2026 California Professional Service Award, was presented to her in April, 2026, at the DKG Northern Conference.

Today, Susan continues her lifelong commitment to public education and advocacy as President Emerita of CalRTA. She also serves as Co-Chair of the National Retirement Security Task Force, CalRTA Federal Legislation Special Assistant, a member of the Senate Social Security War Room led by senior policy advisors to Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Area XIV Legislative Representative for Delta Kappa Gamma.

Before she retired, Susan taught second grade at Mar Vista Elementary School in San Clemente in Southern California. She also worked as a kindergarten teacher at Harold Ambuehl Elementary School in San Juan Capistrano. Susan’s career as an educator spanned 35 years.

Louisiana elementary teacher Regena Beard named her state’s 2026 Teacher of the Year

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Elementary STEM teacher Regena Beard has been named Louisiana State’s 2026 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: CCSSO

Every year, many exceptional educators are singled out for honors in recognition for their dedicated work in our nation’s public schools. One of these is Regena Beard, an elementary school teacher from Louisiana. She has been named her state’s 2026 Teacher of the Year.

Regena teaches courses in science, STEM, and robotics to fifth and sixth graders at Copper Mill Elementary School in the town of Zachary. To further support her students’ exploration of STEM studies, she founded both a Robotics Club and a Coding Club on her campus. In addition, she serves on the Teacher Advisory Council in her district.

As part of her curriculum in her fifth-grade class, Regena’s students explore how matter moves through the ecosystem. They study the cycle of moving from plant producers to animal consumers to decomposers and back into the soil that enriches plants. As part of their study, Regina’s students create animations through block coding on lab computers. “Students are very excited to engage in the content in this way,” she declares. “We certainly don’t do integration with every assignment because you have to teach them how to code first, but we pick and choose what assignments lend themselves to integration,” she explains.

Regena earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2004. She earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a Concentration in STEM from Louisiana State University, Shreveport, in 2023.

In addition to her State Teacher of the Year honors, Regena garnered a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) in 2022, and that same year she was named Outstanding Science Teacher of the Year by the Louisiana Science Teachers Association. Her career as an educator spans 21 years.

Elem teacher Vickie Wright selected 2026 Texas State Teacher of the Year

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Elementary school teacher Vickie Wright of Webster, Texas, has been selected the 2026 Texas State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit:Clear Creek Independent School District

There are many outstanding educators working in our nation’s public schools who are deserving of special recognition. One of them is Vickie Wright, who has been selected as the 2026 Teacher of the Year by the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA), the organization that facilitates the annual Texas State Teacher of the Year program.

Vickie teaches English/Language Arts and Social Studies to fifth graders at Margaret S. McWhirter Elementary School located in the Clear Creek Independent School District in Webster, Texas. The facility is a public professional development lab school.

In her classroom, the honored teacher develops curriculum that uses inquiry-based learning. But she also focuses on building relationships and prioritizing social-emotional development. Vickie emphasizes “reaching a student’s heart before their mind.” She is well-respected by both colleagues and students for her kindness and high-energy teaching style.

Vickie serves as a grade-level instructional coach at her school. She also leads extracurricular activities such as student council, and mentoring on her campus. And she volunteers with her sorority and the Clear Creek Education Foundation. Vickie has been a presenter at Illinois Reading Council conferences and she has led advanced training at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Vickie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education and her Master’s degree in Reading, both from Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. In addition, she has completed the requirements for certification in Educational Leadership from Concordia, and she is National Board Certified. Furthermore, she is a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, a prestigious professional development organization for women educators. Her career as a teacher spans 14 years.

To learn more about Vickie Wright, click on this link to an article about her published by Clear Creek Independent School District.

Victoria Soto: A Chalkboard Hero of Sandy Hook Elementary

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First grade teacher Victoria Soto lost her life while protecting her students from during the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Photo credit: My Hero Project

It is a sad fact that a number of American educators have been put in the unenviable position of protecting their students from active shooters. They are sometimes injured or killed while sheilding their students. One of these teachers was Victoria Soto, a first grade teacher who was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting on Dec. 14, 2012.

Victoria Soto was born on November 4, 1985, in Bridgeport, Connecticut.  In 2003, she graduated from Stratford High School located in Stratford, Connecticut. Following her graduation, she enrolled in Eastern Connecticut State University. There she earned a dual Bachelor’s degree in History and Education, with honors. She also took courses towards her Master’s degree at Southern Connecticut State University.

Once she earned her teaching credentials, Victoria accepted a position as an elementary teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. On December 14, 2013, Victoria was engaged in teaching her first grade class when gunman Adam Lanza burst into the school wielding several weapons and looking for victims. He started shooting. Staff and students heard Lanza discharging his weapons over the school public address system. By the time the gunman made his way to her classroom, Victoria had been able to hide her children in a closet. When confronted by Lanza, Victoria told him the students had been sent to the school gym. But some of the children were too afraid to stay hidden. When they ran from their hiding place, the shooter began to fire at them. In a supreme act of heroism, Victoria threw herself between Lanza and the children. In so doing, she sustained a fatal gunshot wound.

Victoria was only 27 years old when she was killed. Her career spanned five years. The Chalkboard Champion was laid to rest in Union Cemetery Stratford in Fairfield County, Connecticutt.

In 2013, President Barack Obama awarded Victoria a Presidential Citizens Medal posthumously. The medal honors Americans who have performed “exemplary deeds of service” for their country or fellow citizens. The medal is is the government’s second-highest civilian award.

Read more about this amazing educator in this online article entitled “The Teacher as Hero.”

Elem educator Megan Johnson named Indiana’s 2026 State Teacher of the Year

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Elementary teacher Megan Johnson of Plainfield, Indiana, has been named her state’s 2026 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Indiana Department of Education

It is always exciting to share the story of an outstanding educator who has earned accolades for their work in the classroom. Today I share the story of Megan Johnson, an elementary teacher from Indiana. She has been named her state’s 2026 Teacher of the Year.

Megan teaches fourth grade at Central elementary School in Plainfield. Her career as an educator spans 18 years. In her classroom, Megan creates lessons that encourage student-centered learning, critical thinking, collaboration, and connections to real-world issues. She also leads efforts to implement evidence-based reading and writing strategies.

To Megan, reading competency is of paramount importance. “Research has shown that if a fourth grader does not have the necessary pillars in place to read well, their chances of success after high school are slim,” she declares. “I cannot let students leave my classroom without an opportunity to succeed.” To help students increase their reading skills, Megan uses learning bags filled with active tools, such as color-changing pens and sensory objects, to help students build literary competency.

Megan reveals she always knew she wanted to be a teacher. Growing up, she loved school. She remembers that her teachers helped her build confidence and discover her talents, despite being a student who often blended in, she continues. “I realized that what I loved most was the relationships and the sense of belonging that school created,” she says. “I knew I wanted to be part of giving that same experience to my own students one day,” she concludes.

Megan earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Ball State University in 2007. She earned her Master’s degree in Education from Indiana Wesleyan University. In addition, she has earned an endorsement in Early Literacy.

Read more about Megan Johnson in this article published by Town Post Network.