Josh Edwards has been teaching in the Chandler Unified District for a decade—he recently began his 11th year at a new school, Andersen Jr. High School. He has taught eighth grade general science, engineering, gifted mathematics and gifted science classes in the distwrict.

Edwards is an... Read more

Amanda Goossen teaches fourth grade at Saint Thomas the Apostle Catholic School. She teaches reading, language arts and social studies. Goossen loves working with her teaching partner, Angela Locher, and classroom assistants Charlene Mills and Theresa Mansour.

“We truly spend our... Read more

Congratulations to the Valley teachers recognized during the 2023–24 school year. We appreciate all that you do for the kids in Arizona!

Thank you to all the students, parents and others who nominated an outstanding teacher. Send in a nomination today and your teacher could be... Read more

Sydney Toups teaches second grade at Union Park School. She teaches the English side of a Spanish Immersion class for two groups of students, instructing them in reading, writing and social studies.

This fall marks her 10th year in the Deer Valley School District and her fifth year... Read more

 Lacey Ellis has been teaching for nearly 29 years. She teaches first grade at Mesquite Elementary. Ellis is an Arizona native. She was born and raised in the Valley and went to school in Gilbert, and so did her two kids! While Ellis says she often played school as a little kid, it was not until... Read more

Stefanie Galler teaches fifth grade at Paseo Verde Elementary. She has been a teacher for 24 years and has taught K–2 and 4–6 grades.

Galler was born in Indiana, but moved here with her family when she was a kid. She had a brother and sister with asthma, she explains, so they moved to... Read more

Brittany Weatherill teaches fourth grade at Tarwater Elementary. This is her sixth year teaching and her second year at Tarwater.

Weatherill really enjoys where she is now because “the students in fourth grade just have an energy,” she explains. “They make everything fun and they are so... Read more

Miranda Rodriguez teaches second grade at Hidden Hills Elementary. This is her third year of teaching. She also did her student teaching at Hidden Hills, and she says she feels fortunate to work there.

Rodriguez is originally from Lake Elsinore, California. She moved to Arizona for... Read more

Shannon Hebert is a fourth grade teacher at Playa del Rey Elementary. She has been teaching for two years, and notes that teaching is something that’s in her blood.

“I grew up in a family full of teachers,” explains Hebert. “My mom is a teacher. All my sisters are teachers.”... Read more

Sabrina Rideau is the dean of students and the curriculum director at Holy Family Academy. She often tutors students at the school and last year she taught a second-grade class.

“My heart is always in the classroom,” says Rideau, who has been teaching since 2010. She taught preK at... Read more