The four finalists for the 2013 National Teacher of the Year have just been announced by the Council of Chief State School Officers. The selected teachers were nominated first by their state and then chosen by a panel of 15 national education organizations convened by the CCSSO. They are:
• Jeffrey Charbonneau, a 9-12th grade chemistry, physics, and engineering teacher in Zillah, Wash.;
• Rhonda Holmes-Blankenship, a 10-11th grade English teacher in North East, Md.;
• Alex S. Lopes, a prekindergarten special education teacher in Miami-Dade County, Fla.;
• Heidi Welch, a 9-12th grade music teacher in Hillsboro, N.H.
The winner will be announced in April after the committee interviews each finalist. To find out more about the National Teacher of the Year Program, go to the CCSSO website.
Also, take a look back at our coverage of last year’s winner, Rebecca Mieliwocki.