The 16 Los Angeles County Teachers of the Year were announced this week at a ceremony celebrating excellence in teaching.
The list included Kari Fretham of the Culver City Unified School District, who has been teaching for 34 years.
The 16 were selected from a field of 71 teachers who participated in the 31st Annual Los Angeles County Teachers of the Year competition. All participants had been recently selected as teacher of the year by their respective school districts
The winning educators will serve as standard bearers for the teaching profession and their more than 76,000 classroom colleagues countywide.
They come from a diversity of school locales, including Arcadia, Covina, Culver City, Glendora, Lakewood, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Santa Fe Springs, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Monrovia, Diamond Bar and South Pasadena.
The county competition, presented by the Downey-based Los Angeles County Office of Education, is the largest competition of its kind in the state and nation. It is part of the oldest and most prestigious honors contest in the United States for public school teachers.
Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools Arturo Delgado presented the 16 teachers at the annual event that aims to focus public attention on excellence in teaching.
"These are dedicated women and men who everyday make the most of a precious opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of their students," Delgado said in his welcome remarks.
The competition is designed to honor exemplary dedication, compelling classroom practices, positive accomplishments and professional commitment.
In addition to being interviewed, contestants submitted essays, lesson plans and other materials to judging panels comprised of education peers.
The 16 L.A. County Teachers of the Year received a $1,000 cash prize courtesy of the California Credit Union, the program's main sponsor.
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