ESD 113 hosts OSPI 2022 Educator Awards

OSPI honors Regional and State Classified School Employees and Teachers of the Year

TUMWATER – September 12, 2022 – Educators came together from across the state on Monday, September 12, 2022, for the OSPI Educator Awards, an in-person ceremony to honor the Regional and State Classified School Employees and Teachers of the Year.

ESD 113 hosted the event, welcoming them to the Tyee Site.

Each Regional Classified School Employee and Teacher in attendance received an award for this prestigious achievement.

After each Regional winner received their acknowledgment, Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal announced the State Classified School Employee and Teacher of the Year winners.

ESD 112’s Dana Miles, who has worked for the past six years as a Work Experience and Applied Bilingual Language Arts teacher at the Washington School for the Deaf, was named the 2023 State Teacher of the Year.

During her speech, Miles thanked fellow educators at the Washington School for the Deaf, her job coach, her parents (who were in attendance), her husband, and her students.

The audience in attendance signed their applause in a show of appreciation for her accomplishment and speech.

ESD 189’s Veronica Gonzalez, a 27-year Mount Vernon School District employee and a current Multilingual Student/Family Liaison at Mount Vernon High School, received the State Classified School Employee of the Year Award.

Gonzalez could not attend the event but received a standing ovation nonetheless.

The also event featured two other speakers: Jerad Koepp, the 2022 Washington State Teacher of the Year, and Nancy Baldwin, the 2022 State Classified School Employee of the Year.

Both State award recipients will now move on as nominees for the National Classified School Employee and Teacher of the Year awards.

The award recipients by region were as follows:

For more information

• Washington State Teacher of the Year Program