TASA has announced that six outstanding educators from across Texas have been chosen as finalists in the 2025 Texas Teacher of the Year program.
Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year Finalists
Kevin Criss, Cambridge Elementary School, Alamo Heights ISD
Kevin Criss is a physical education teacher at Cambridge Elementary in Alamo Heights ISD, where he has taught PE to first through fifth graders since 2013. Prior to that, he was a teaching assistant in Comal ISD, where he earned Support Staff of the Year in 2012. “Compassion and kindness are not often associated with physical education,” Criss says. “Instead, people tend to focus on winning and achievement. It hits home for me. When I think back to that younger version of myself, the insecure kid who had limited support and experience in all things athletic, I recognize that PE has social emotional components and implications that are often overlooked, and my heart is to help establish a more inclusive and encouraging culture. Because of my childhood PE experiences, I have intentionally created a classroom that uses PE as an opportunity to teach integrity, perseverance, gratitude, and compassion, to name a few.” Criss holds a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from The University of Texas at San Antonio. He is also one of only two teachers in Texas who is National Board Certified in Physical Education-Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood.
JoMeka Gray, Kennedy-Powell Elementary School, Temple ISD
JoMeka Gray has taught math, science, and social studies to kindergarten students at Kennedy-Powell Elementary in Temple ISD since 2023. A mentor teacher and an advocate for her profession at the Texas Capitol, Gray has been leading classrooms since 2010, having taught both kindergarten and first grade on several campuses in Temple ISD and in Killeen ISD. “It is amazing to see the academic growth of a student from the first time they sat in your class until graduation,” she says. “We as teachers also get to celebrate students beyond academics such as losing their first tooth, reading their first sentence, playing their first instrument, catching their first ball, and sometimes teaching their first child. It takes a true gift to get a person to bloom to their full potential. This is the gift that allows the teacher to go beyond the classroom walls and make a stamp on society.” Gray holds a BA in general liberal studies from Louisiana Tech University. She is certified to teach both early childhood and English as a Second Language (ESL). She also holds National Board Certification as an Early Childhood Specialist. She has been Temple ISD District Teacher of the Year twice — once in 2021 and again in 2024.
Kristi Leff, Humphrey’s Highland Elementary School, Amarillo ISD
Kristi Leff is a fifth-grade science and English/language arts teacher at Humphrey’s Highland Elementary in Amarillo, where she has taught since 2015. She has also taught in Florida and in Calallen and Mathis ISDs in South Texas during her 21-year career. Leff has been named Campus Teacher of the Year several times, at Magee Intermediate in Calallen in 2009, at Springhead Elementary in Plant City, Florida, in 2014, and at Humphrey’s Highland in 2024. “I walk into my classroom every day not as a teacher where my job is to fill my students with the content entrusted to me by the state of Texas, but as an educational guide that facilitates their acquisition of self-confidence, self-worth, and an independent drive to be the very best version of themselves long after they leave the education system,” she says. Leff holds an associate degree in education from Brevard Community College, a BA in elementary education from Rollins College, and a master’s degree in special education from Lamar University. She is certified in gifted and talented instruction, English as a Second Language (ESL), and as an educational diagnostician.
Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year Finalists
Christine Mihealsick, Westwood High School, Round Rock ISD
Chris Mihealsick teaches Advanced Placement (AP) environmental science and serves as the science department chair at Westwood High School in Round Rock ISD. Going back to 2007, she has also taught environmental systems, chemistry, anatomy, and biology on that campus. From 2002 to 2007, she taught chemistry and biology at Crockett High School in Austin ISD. “As a teacher I’m an inherent optimist in the potential of humanity,” she says. “I believe I can help everyone who walks through my door improve — in their science lab skills, in their writing skills, in their peer collaboration abilities, in their confidence in themselves to do challenging advanced science coursework.” Mihealsick holds a BS in biology and a master’s degree in science education from The University of Texas at Austin. She is certified to teach all science subjects in grades 6-12 and holds National Board Certification for Adolescent/Young Adult Science. She has been selected for a Fulbright teacher exchange program to Japan, the Toyota International Teacher Program to Costa Rica, and the Northrop Grumman Ecoclassroom teacher for tropical research.
Darla Morrow, James R. Brooks Middle School, Greenwood ISD
Darla Morrow has provided dyslexia intervention services to students at James R. Brooks Middle School in Greenwood ISD in Midland, Texas, since 2017. She has also worked as a dyslexia intervention specialist and second-grade teacher at Greenwood Elementary School, as a first-grade teacher in Plains ISD, and as a kindergarten teacher in Plainview ISD. “In school each day I am teacher. I am Mrs. Morrow, and I am one who comes to school from the farm,” she says. “Within the walls of the school I bring my experience from the farm by interlacing my teaching with agriculture in every way possible. … Cultivation in the classroom is the act of deliberately building leaders, creating life-learners and developing an environment for all students, despite their shortfalls. Like the farm holds the life requirements of food and fiber, we teachers in our classrooms hold the leaders, the innovators and the stabilizers of tomorrow.” Morrow holds a BS in human development and family studies from Texas Tech University and an MA in Christian education from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She holds several certifications including special education, early childhood education, and English as a Second Language (ESL). In 2014, she was named the Texas Farm Bureau Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year, and in 2015, she was an Agriculture in the Classroom Top Ten in the Nation Teacher of the Year.
Melissa Farias Zúñiga, New Braunfels High School, New Braunfels ISD
Melissa Farias Zúñiga is an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher at New Braunfels High School in New Braunfels ISD. When she was 13, she co-founded Melissa’s Mexican Folk Dance Company for children and instructed for five years. Then, after completing her BA in psychology from The University of Texas at Austin, she focused on community work, raising her four children, and volunteering in public schools and scouting organizations. She began her career in public education in 2014 as an ESL paraprofessional and earned her alternative certification in English. She taught ESL and English at the New Braunfels Ninth Grade Center before moving to the high school in 2022. “Walls do not contain what is in the heart and soul, nor should they be barriers for growth and success,” she says. “Connecting students with their community has developed into a pillar of my teaching. These connections enrich students’ learning experiences and help them develop a sense of self, belonging and responsibility.” Zúñiga will complete a master’s degree in teaching ESL from The University of Texas at San Antonio in December and is certified in English/language arts and reading and ESL for grades 7-12. She was named Campus Teacher of the Year in 2018 at the New Braunfels Ninth Grade Center and again in 2024 at New Braunfels High School.
“Texas teachers perform miracles every day as they inspire children even in the most challenging of times,” said Kevin Brown, executive director of TASA, which has coordinated the Texas Teacher of the Year program since 2011. “Public school teachers are critical to the success of individual children and our society as a whole. Those who choose to teach are national heroes, and these six finalists are the best among them. They have distinguished themselves among thousands of outstanding, dedicated teachers across our nation have who have answered the call to serve.”
On August 14, a panel of judges composed of representatives of Texas teacher associations and last year’s Texas Teacher of the Year finalists selected the finalists from the 40 Texas Regional Teachers of the Year — one elementary and one secondary teacher from each of the 20 Texas Education Service Center regions.
2025 Texas Regional Teachers of the Year
| Region 1 | Region 2 | |||
| Elementary | Secondary | Elementary | Secondary | |
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| Brianne Castillo, Sullivan Environmental Science Academy, San Benito CISD | Erick Morin, Instruction and Guidance Center, McAllen ISD | Rosalinda Garcia, Banquete Elementary School, Banquete ISD | Jane Lee-Rhodes, Kaffie Middle School, Corpus Christi ISD |
| Region 3 | Region 4 | |||
| Elementary | Secondary | Elementary | Secondary | |
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| Evelyn Gonzales, Austwell-Tivoli Elementary, Austwell-Tivoli ISD | Kaitlin Staloch, Hope High School, Calhoun County ISD | Taylor Brock, Sheldon Lake Elementary School, Sheldon ISD | Jessica Brink, Sweeny High School, Sweeny ISD |
| Region 5 | Region 6 | |||
| Elementary | Secondary | Elementary | Secondary | |
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| Lois Shoemake, Deweyville Elementary School, Deweyville ISD | Lindsey Fruge, Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School, Little Cypress-Mauriceville CISD | Tami Glenn, Anson Jones Elementary School, Bryan ISD | Stephen Green, Caney Creek High School, Conroe ISD |
| Region 7 | Region 8 | |||
| Elementary | Secondary | Elementary | Secondary | |
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| Diana Smith, Edgewood Intermediate School, Edgewood ISD | Cheli Vasquez, Nichols Intermediate School, Jacksonville ISD | Leesha Hartley, North Hopkins Elementary School, North Hopkins ISD | Mark Ahrens, Texas High School, Texarkana |
| Region 9 | Region 10 | |||
| Elementary | Secondary | Elementary | Secondary | |
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| Andrea Hollis, Midway Elementary, Midway ISD | Robyn Little, Burkburnett High School, Burkburnett ISD | Lauren Stewart, Frank D. Moates Elementary School, DeSoto ISD | Amanda Ashmead, The School of Science and Engineering Magnet, Dallas ISD |
| Region 11 | Region 12 | |||
| Elementary | Secondary | Elementary | Secondary | |
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| Brandy Kaminski, AV Cato Elementary School, Castleberry ISD | Elisha Woodson, Aledo High School, Aledo ISD | JoMeka Gray, Kennedy-Powell Elementary School, Temple ISD (finalist) | Arlene Sefcik, Academy High School, Academy ISD |
| Region 13 | Region 14 | |||
| Elementary | Secondary | Elementary | Secondary | |
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| Elizabeth Eagan, Special Programs & Services, Bastrop ISD | Christine Mihealsick, Westwood High School, Round Rock ISD (finalist) | Megan Jimenez, Merkel Elementary School, Merkel ISD | Jennifer Jordan, Abilene High School, Abilene ISD |
| Region 15 | Region 16 | |||
| Elementary | Secondary | Elementary | Secondary | |
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| Cindy Johnson, Ceniza Hills Elementary School, San Felipe Del Rio CISD | Deb Pritchard, Winters High School, Winters ISD | Kristi Leff, Humphrey’s Highland Elementary School, Amarillo ISD (finalist) | Christian Hernandez-Ocasio, Highland Park High School, Highland Park ISD |
| Region 17 | Region 18 | |||
| Elementary | Secondary | Elementary | Secondary | |
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| Morgan Combs, South Elementary School, Levelland ISD | Sarah Denning, Alcove Trails Middle School, Frenship ISD | Angie Dehlinger, Greenwood Elementary School, Greenwood ISD | Darla Morrow, James R. Brooks Middle School, Greenwood ISD (finalist) |
| Region 19 | Region 20 | |||
| Elementary | Secondary | Elementary | Secondary | |
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| Dora Esquivel, Duran Elementary School, El Paso ISD | Christopher Martin, Col. John O Ensor Middle School, Socorro ISD | Kevin Criss, Cambridge Elementary School, Alamo Heights ISD (finalist) | Melissa Farias Zúñiga, New Braunfels High School, New Braunfels ISD (finalist) |
The six finalists will be interviewed October 24 by a panel of judges composed of representatives of educational leadership associations, community and business leaders, a member of the State Board for Educator Certification, a member of the State Board of Education, and prior Texas Teachers of the Year.
The panel will select two state-level winners — Elementary Teacher of the Year and Secondary Teacher of the Year — and designate one to represent Texas in the National Teacher of the Year program. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony October 25 Kalahari Resort & Convention Center in Round Rock, Texas, where the 40 Regional Teachers of the Year will also be recognized.
The Texas Teacher of the Year program has honored excellence in classroom education since 1969. The program, facilitated by TASA since 2011, annually recognizes and rewards teachers who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and excellence in teaching. In 2015, Texas Teacher of the Year Shanna Peeples of Amarillo ISD became the second Texas teacher to be named the National Teacher of the Year.
The Texas Teacher of the Year program operates with financial support and in-kind contributions from the following:
- Premier Sponsors: H-E-B, Imagine Learning, and TASA
- Gold Sponsor: ??????
- Silver Sponsors: Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE), Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), Texas Association of Secondary School Principals (TASSP), Texas Classroom Teachers Association (TCTA), Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA), Texas PTA, and the Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA), and the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA)
