Educators selected as either the official District Elementary Teacher of the Year or District Secondary Teacher of the Year who wish to advance in the regional/state awards program must submit the Texas Teacher of the Year online application by the annual deadline. (The deadline for 2023 Texas Teacher of the Year has passed; the deadline for the 2024 awards cycle will be in June 2023.) Each completed application is emailed directly to the Regional Teacher of the Year Award coordinator at the teacher’s respective Region ESC. (A teacher nominated by a charter operator should enter the number of the Region ESC in which their campus is located when completing the online application.)
Regional Teacher of the Year Award Coordinators
The following regional award coordinators are available for support for the districts in their areas. Please direct questions about the Regional/Texas Teacher of the Year program to the ESC coordinator listed below for your region.
| Region 1 Brenda Y. Mora 956.984.6100 |
Region 2 Esperanza Zendejas 361.561.8404 |
Region 3 Mitzi McAfee 361.573.0731 ext. 214 Judy Ledwig 361.573.0731 ext. 295 |
Region 4 Kristi Hernandez 713.744.6569 |
| Region 5 Marianne Kondo 409.951.1839 |
Region 6 Steve Pierce 936.435.8203 |
Region 7 Summer Stone 903.988.6972 |
Region 8 Stacy Elledge 903.575.2616 |
| Region 9 Pat Page 940.397.8270 Dana Parrish 940.322.6928 |
Region 10 Rachel Frost 972.348.1040 |
Region 11 Lori Burton 817.740.3690 |
Region 12 Jennifer Marshall-Higgins 254.297.1198 |
| Region 13 Krystal Herrington 512.919.5228 |
Region 14 Melissa Morales 325.675.8609 |
Region 15 Laura Strube 325.658.6571 |
Region 16 Brenda Foster 806.677.5085 |
| Region 17 Syd Sexton 806.281.5807 |
Region 18 LaJuan Holster 432.567.3211 |
Region 19 Socorro Rodriguez 915.790.4610 |
Region 20 Mayra DeHoyos 210.370.5617 |
The regional selection process is conducted in June-July by the 20 Texas Regional Education Service Centers; each names a Regional Elementary and Secondary Teacher of the Year.
State Level Consideration
The 40 Regional Teachers of the Year are considered for Texas Teacher of the Year in a selection process facilitated by TASA. (If a Regional Teacher of the Year accepts a non-teaching position [in administration or outside a school or district] or moves to a position in which they teach students for less than four hours each day, they will not be eligible to advance in the state competition.) Learn more about the Texas Teacher of the Year program.
