Teacher of the Year and Regional Winners

Kori Cannon inspires learners as a kindergarten teacher at Westgate Elementary in Kennewick, Washington, in one of the district's most linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms. Over the years, she has taught students from more than 22 countries, and the school community represents 17 languages. All of her students speak a language other than English as their first language. Kori creates joyful, hands-on learning experiences that build skills and confidence, helping every child reach their potential. She believes love is the foundation of teaching, but must be paired with high expectations.

Kori bridges school and home through home visits, fostering trust and collaboration with families. She empowers parents to strengthen their children's first language, which supports English acquisition and growth. Families describe her as welcoming, compassionate, and committed to honoring each child's culture and identity.

In the classroom, Kori designs experiences that students remember, including room transformations and hands-on projects that bring content to life. Former students credit her with shaping their love of learning and long-term success. Beyond her classroom, Kori coached Girls on the Run, a program that empowers young girls. She has led initiatives including the Ron Clark Academy Houses system, comprehensive behavior supports, and the Action Team for Partnerships, which earned Westgate national recognition through the National Network of Partnership Schools at Johns Hopkins University. As a GLAD model teacher, she shares strategies with colleagues and fosters a culture of professional growth.

Colleagues praise Kori's energy, dedication, and leadership. She elevates students, families, and the school community through her relational teaching style and commitment to equity and excellence. Kori was recently named Kennewick School District's Elementary Teacher of the Year and nominated for the 2026 Crystal Apple Award. Her work reflects a belief that every child deserves to be seen, challenged, and supported to reach their highest potential.

In one classroom in rural Orient, Washington, Gretchen Cruden teaches the entire middle school—every subject—while also serving as principal of her K–8 school. For more than two decades, she has designed interdisciplinary instruction that blends core academics with social-emotional learning so students experience school as both meaningful and connected to their lives. A National Board Certified Teacher with graduate study in Mind, Brain, and Teaching from Johns Hopkins University, she grounds her practice in neuroscience and the belief that strong relationships and high expectations belong together.

Through a deeply trauma-informed approach, she teaches students how stress affects the brain and gives them practical self-regulation tools while maintaining rigorous academic expectations. Using this lens, she developed Room 180, a novel-based SEL curriculum she has implemented with her middle school students. In pilot cohorts, every participating student has gone on to complete high school, an outcome especially meaningful in a high-poverty community. One student said, "Room 180 is like The Outsiders had life coaching."

Her classroom is known for place-based innovation and community engagement. Students run a community newspaper, present independent projects to local audiences, partner with a local hatchery to raise salmon for release, and collaborate with a local farmer and baker to grow wheat on the playground, later milling it into flour and baking bread. She ensures students in her class walk away knowing their community matters.

Gretchen extends her impact through leadership and advocacy. Through Enriched Teaching, she provides workshops and coaching for teachers and school leaders, and she has contributed statewide writing for the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession to elevate neuroeducation and highlight the strengths and challenges of rural schools. Her work aims to ensure that every student and every educator she supports leaves with stronger skills, a clearer purpose, and confidence to shape the future they imagine.

Rosalia Tapia is a dedicated Kindergarten Dual Language Spanish Teacher and lifelong member of the Wahluke community, where she was raised, educated, and has now served students and families for 18 years. Her career reflects a deep commitment to early childhood education, multilingual learners, and building strong connections with families.

She began her career as a paraeducator, serving for four years before becoming a preschool teacher in both general education and ECEAP programs. She later taught kindergarten before transitioning into dual language education, where she has taught for the past six years.

While working full-time and raising her two children, Rosalia earned her bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education from Grand Canyon University in 2019 and later completed the ELL Program through Washington State University Tri-Cities. Rosalia devotes extensive time before and after school, on weekends, and in the summer to refining her practice, collaborating with colleagues, and reflecting to grow professionally. She has served as a mentor teacher, contributed to district initiatives such as the AI Task Force, Guiding Coalition, and Dual Language Committee, supported enrichment and intervention programs, and guides high school students through GEAR UP Job Shadowing, inspiring the next generation of educators.

Rosalia is a bilingual educator who creates an inclusive, culturally responsive classroom where every child feels safe, valued, and celebrated. She advocates for all learners, honors students' home language, incorporates sign language to support communication and understanding, and builds strong family partnerships through communication, home visits, and a welcoming presence. Her experience co-teaching with Bi-National Migrant Program educators strengthened her commitment to culturally connected learning.

Beyond the classroom, she encourages others to pursue higher education, shares instructional practices with colleagues, and volunteers at church events and catechism classes, exemplifying her dedication to community and lifelong learning.

Tamara "Tammy" Smith serves as a special education instructor, focusing on literacy skills, social skills, and functional math skills. She works with students who have diverse learning needs, providing individualized instruction aligned with IEP goals while providing access to grade-level content. Tammy also holds a leadership role as the Special Education Department Head and actively participates in the school's Guiding Coalition, Faculty Council, and is a PLC Facilitator in her department.

Tammy's work includes developing differentiated curriculum materials across multiple reading levels, implementing data-driven instruction through consistent progress monitoring, and creating systems to track student growth in literacy, math, behavior, adaptive, and social-emotional skills. She has successfully provided adapted texts, structured writing supports, and real-world math applications that help students build both academic and life skills.
Tammy fosters an inclusive, supportive environment grounded in respect, responsibility, kindness, and resilience, incorporating social-emotional learning into daily instruction. She is helping students develop self-advocacy, emotional regulation, and interpersonal skills.

Tammy is actively involved in school and community activities, including organizing inclusive events such as unified sports as the Special Olympics School Coordinator. She has collaborated with other teachers and staff to build the Fans in the Stands event, an event that spotlights Unified Special Olympics athletes/partners in a round-robin basketball tournament at her school. Tammy also collaborates with the Leadership teacher to put on the No Limits Track Meet for 24 different schools throughout Southwest Washington. She also collaborates with local agencies to provide transition support for students preparing to exit high school (ESD112 for the YES Program, Special Olympics, DD Services, and Life Works of Cowlitz County). 

Her teaching style is student-centered, data-informed, and relationship-driven, emphasizing high expectations, individualized support, and the belief that every student can grow, succeed, and be as independent as possible.

Scott Le Duc is a National Board Certified Teacher and Career and Technical Education instructor at Capital High School in Olympia, Washington, where he has taught Film Cinematography, Audio Production, and Game Design for 30 years. He holds a Master of Education in Arts Integration from Lesley University.

In February 2026, Scott was named the Olympia School District Teacher of the Year. Additional recognitions include the Washington ACTE Community Service Award (2021), the WITEA Program of the Year (2021), and the Jubilation Foundation Teaching Artist Fellowship (2022). Scott has served as adjunct faculty at St. Martin's University, City University of Seattle, Lesley University, and Wuhan University of Technology in China, and conducts professional development for OSPI and school districts across Washington State. He presents teaching and learning strategies at Career and Technical Education conferences.

He is a founding member of AMES (Advanced Media Entertainment Society), a Washington State nonprofit connecting high school students with professional storytellers in the media arts. Scott's classroom uses a continuous-improvement model that promotes student agency. Students work in small teams, set individual goals for their roles, and move through improvement cycles called Kaizen: small gains that result in meaningful growth. Learning is treated as a process to be iterated, not a product to be delivered. Students co-author the classroom experience through feedback loops, self-assessment, and peer review, building the habits of a self-improving practitioner. These transferable skills are externally validated through an MOU with DigiPen Institute of Technology, one of the top five game design schools in the world, which awards students who earn an A in Scott's Game Design course a renewable scholarship of nearly $20,000 per year for four years. His teaching integrates AI³: Authentic Intelligence + Artificial Intelligence = Amplified Intelligence, preparing students to work creatively and critically in a rapidly changing landscape.

Jaden Friedle is a dedicated K–2 Special Education teacher specializing in supporting students with the most significant behavioral and emotional needs. She leads an intensive intervention program that she designed and built from the ground up, serving students who display frequent verbal and physical aggression, refusal to engage academically, and difficulty remaining safely in the general education environment. Through a structured three-phase model, Ms. Friedle teaches essential self-regulation strategies, social–emotional skills, and academic readiness, gradually reintegrating students into general education until they are able to participate successfully 100% of the time.

Jaden's passion is influenced by her own early childhood experiences. Born with a sensory processing disorder and fully nonverbal until age 3½, she firsthand understands what it feels like to be dysregulated, overwhelmed, and unable to communicate effectively. After attending a Special Education preschool, she made rapid progress and soon reached age-typical speech and language skills. This transformation inspired her lifelong commitment to supporting students with disabilities.

A high-achieving student, Jaden completed her associate degree while in high school and was honored as Running Start Student of the Year. She later completed her teacher preparation program during COVID, navigating the challenges of teaching young learners over Zoom. Due to her strong performance, her school district and university collaborated to allow her to graduate two quarters early. This enabled her to take over her own first-grade classroom mid-November when students returned to in-person instruction.

Jaden is known for building exceptionally strong relationships with students and families. She maintains a calm, loving, and consistent presence, even in moments of significant student dysregulation. She is trained in trauma-informed practices and is a vocal advocate for her students across the school. With unwavering compassion and skill, Jaden ensures that every child is seen, supported, and set up for success.
 

Lisa Merlin has spent the last fifteen years as a second-grade teacher at Green Lake Elementary, a Title One school in the Seattle Public School District (SPS). She teaches swimming to all of the second graders at the local pool, is the school's student council advisor, and coaches the ultimate frisbee team. Prior to coming to SPS, she taught at Bryn Mawr Elementary in the Renton School District for eight years.

Travel has shaped Lisa's multicultural focus in her classroom. She has taught in Honduras and England, studied in Spain, been married in Peru, and participated in a Fulbright group grant to study the school systems in Ghana. Her class studies a different country every day in what they call DOG (Daily Oral Geography), which is organized by continent. At the end of each continental study, she hosts a potluck focusing on food and crafts from those countries. These potlucks build strong community involvement and connections that follow her families through their elementary school years and beyond.

Lisa fosters a community where "Taking care of each other's hearts" becomes part of daily conversation in her classroom and throughout the school. Her daily homework includes "making someone smile." Her focus is on preparing kids to be successful both academically and socially for the rest of their lives.

Lisa has served as a mentor teacher to eight different student teachers and maintains communication with many of them to support their careers even after leaving her classroom. She has served on the Building Lead Team for multiple years, the safety committee, and is currently the school's Social Emotional Learning Liaison.

Outside of school, Lisa is a wife and proud mother of three. Although she considers herself a Seattleite, her Wisconsin ties run deep, and she will forever be a proud Cheesehead cheering on her Packers.

Amelia Lehman is an experienced and dedicated educator who truly loves her profession. She has taught first, second, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade, giving her a broad understanding of elementary learners and the academic progression across grade levels. This range of experience has strengthened her ability to identify student needs and provide targeted instruction to help all students succeed. Each year, her primary goal is to build meaningful relationships with her students while guiding them to reach their fullest potential.

Over the past several years, Amelia's classroom has served as a model site for new teachers. A district coordinator brings novice educators into her classroom to observe instruction and classroom management practices. During these visits, Amelia not only demonstrates effective teaching strategies but also engages in professional dialogue to explain instructional decisions and reflect on best practices. This leadership role has strengthened her own practice while supporting the growth of others.

Each class has its own unique challenges. In her current classroom, she supports seven students with Individual Learning Plans and two students with 504 plans, each requiring individualized accommodations and modifications. She collaborates consistently with the school counselor, special education team, school psychologist, and paraprofessionals to ensure that every student receives the support needed to thrive. Through intentional planning, flexibility, and strong communication, her students continue to demonstrate academic growth and positive behavioral development.

Amelia remains committed to fostering a classroom environment where all students feel valued, supported, and capable of success.

With seventeen years dedicated to education, Carlene Ogren has spent the last decade serving Oak Harbor Public Schools in various capacities. After teaching for eight years in Texas and California, she began at Oak Harbor in 2016 as a third-grade teacher for five years. She then transitioned to her current role as a Tier 2 reading interventionist through the Learning Assistance Program (LAP) at Broad View Elementary.

As an innovative educational leader, Carlene spearheaded the implementation of a comprehensive Tier 2 reading program based on the "What I Need" model at Broad View Elementary. This approach ensures all students receive appropriate reading support while strategically positioning highly-qualified teachers with emerging readers. The program's success has illuminated areas for improvement in Tier 1 instruction, leading to extensive reforms in the school's reading framework.

Carlene's administrative responsibilities include scheduling and analyzing benchmark assessments three times annually, organizing assessment data to create targeted reading groups, and hosting collaborative Data Days with grade-level teams, special education teachers, multilingual teachers, and administrators. As a key member of the school's MTSS Team, she is helping to lead the transition from the discrepancy model to the response-to-intervention model. For seven consecutive years, she organized Broad View's annual Literacy and Math Family Nights, fostering community engagement in education while serving as an active PTA member.

Additional district leadership roles have included completing an Administrator Internship during COVID-19, overseeing Oak Harbor Public Schools' Summer Program from 2021-2023, serving as Site Testing Coordinator, and participating on the district's Instructional Materials Committee for eight years.

Carlene's teaching philosophy centers on building positive relationships as the foundation for learning. She believes students must feel heard, trusted, and supported by adults who advocate for their success, creating an environment where children feel safe to persevere through challenges and embrace new learning opportunities.