Just a quick heads-up: The Council of Chief State School Officers has announced the finalists for the 2012 National Teacher of the Year. They are:
• Gay Barnes, an elementary school teacher in Alabama with 21 years of experience;
• Alvin Aureliano Davis, a high school music teacher in Florida;
• Rebecca Lynn Mieliwocki, a 7th grade teacher in California; and
• Angela Wilson, a teacher with the Department of Defense Education Activity who is currently working in a middle school in Italy;
The winner will be announced this spring. More on the finalists and the process here.