Sheridan School District instructor Angela Walters is among 12 regional finalists for the 2022 Arkansas Teacher of the Year award.
Each regional finalist will receive a certificate and a $1,000 prize from the Walton Family Foundation.
Four state semifinalists from the group will be announced Aug. 5, with one to be named Arkansas Teacher of the Year. The announcement will be made at the Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock, where some state Board of Education members may attend.
The award, part of the National Teacher of the Year program, recognizes teachers for their teaching and leadership skills, according to a news release.
Walters teaches gifted education in grades kindergarten through 5. She was nominated by the Arkansas River Education Service Cooperative.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Other regional finalists include:
• Brigette Biley-Olatunji, a math instructor at Arkansas High School in Texarkana.
• Rozanna Brown, a fourth-grade teacher at Ballman Elementary School in Fort Smith.
• Allison Dolan, a social studies instructor at Don Tyson School of Innovation in Springdale.
• Amy Farmer, a math instructor at the Academies of West Memphis.
• Jil’Lana Heard, a library media specialist at Lake Hamilton High School.
• Shanon Hum, an AVID College and Career Readiness Coordinator at Sylvan Hills Middle School.
• Vickie Lewis, an English, math, reading, science and social studies instructor at NewStart Academy ALE in Wynne.
• Amy Privett, a special education instructor at Walnut Ridge Middle School.
• Kaitlyn Ryals, a math teacher at Bob and Betty Courtway Middle School in Conway.
• Jessica Saum, a K-4 special education teacher at Stagecoach Elementary School in Cabot.
• Jessica Talley, a K-2 technology instructor at East Side Elementary School in Magnolia.