THE 2026 WINNERS ARE HERE!
Stay tuned for the winners’ announcement in the March issue.
2026 Top Teacher Finalists
| Category | Finalist’s First Name | Finalist’s Last Name | School Name |
| Top Teacher | Lauren | Vargas | La Habra High School |
| Top 10 Teacher | Callie | Albano | Heritage Oak Private Education |
| Top 10 Teacher | Ana | Flores | Fairmont Preparatory Academy |
| Top 10 Teacher | Juvy | Gomez | Juarez Elementary School |
| Top 10 Teacher | Trang | Le | Esther L. Walter Elementary |
| Top 10 Teacher | Nicole | Mahar | Robert C. Fisler School |
| Top 10 Teacher | Nahyun | Park | Oakridge Private School |
| Top 10 Teacher | David | Sporn | Katella High School |
| Top 10 Teacher | Michael | Thatcher | Oakridge Private School |
| Top 10 Teacher | Stephanie | Weber | Sunset Lane Elementary School |
| Top 25 Teacher | Caroline | Boehm | Valencia Park Elementary School |
| Top 25 Teacher | Amanda | Burzumato | Taft Elementary School |
| Top 25 Teacher | Rachael | Butler | Fairmont Schools, Historic Anaheim Campus |
| Top 25 Teacher | Alondra | Diaz | Sycamore Magnet Academy |
| Top 25 Teacher | John | Dovenmuehler | Red Hill Lutheran School |
| Top 25 Teacher | Dayna | Humphries | Heritage Oak Private Education |
| Top 25 Teacher | Glenn | Madrid | Troy High School |
| Top 25 Teacher | Natalie | Miranda | Vibrant Minds Charter School |
| Top 25 Teacher | Tanya | Musquez | TVT Community Day School |
| Top 25 Teacher | Christina | Ngo | The Pegasus School |
| Top 25 Teacher | Julia | Parsons | Orange Lutheran High School |
| Top 25 Teacher | Brendan | Powers | Servite High School |
| Top 25 Teacher | Kasey | Spencer | Cambridge Virtual Academy |
| Top 25 Teacher | Kelly | Virden | Sonora High School |
| Top 25 Teacher | Courtney | White | Oxford Preparatory Academy, South Orange County |
| Teacher | Beverly | Berekian | Serrano Intermediate School |
| Teacher | Shelley | Bivens | Fairmont Schools, San Juan Capistrano |
| Teacher | Rosana | Carrion | Child’s World Preschool |
| Teacher | Ida | Egenberger-Gutierrez | Juliet Morris Elementary School |
| Teacher | Kathryn | Gibson | La Vista High School |
| Teacher | Marissa | Kahle | La Tierra Early Childhood Center |
| Teacher | Melody | Khavar | Fairmont Schools, San Juan Capistrano |
| Teacher | Jean | Krever | Villa Park Elementary School |
| Teacher | Susan | Lee | Peters Canyon Elementary School |
| Teacher | Juana | Melgoza | Little Scholars Academy of California |
| Teacher | Katey | Miller | Cielo Vista Elementary School |
| Teacher | Jordan | Mock | Fairmont Schools, San Juan Capistrano |
| Teacher | Anni | Mun | Excel Academy Charter School |
| Teacher | Leigh | Nguyen | Fairmont North Tustin |
| Teacher | Anh | Phan | Westpark Montessori School of Irvine |
| Teacher | Vanessa | Robertson | Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts |
| Teacher | Lauren | Schmidt | Frank Vessels Elementary School |
| Teacher | Michelle | Skelley | Northwood Elementary School |
| Teacher | William | Snyder | Godinez Fundamental High School |
| Teacher | Cecile (Cece) | Vu | Lake Forest Elementary School |
| Teacher | Linda | Walker | Serrano Elementary School |
| Teacher | Jessica | Winslow | Fairmont North Tustin |
| Teacher | Cassandra | Gonzalez | Fairmont Schools, Historic Anaheim Campus |
| Teacher | Tina | Zarate | Jefferson Elementary School |
2026 Top Employee Finalists
| Top Employee | Melissa | Dunham | Heritage Oak Private School |
| Top 10 Employee | Miranda | Baird | Capistrano Valley Christian Schools |
| Top 10 Employee | Hanna | Chon | Sunset Lane Elementary School |
| Top 10 Employee | Sindy | Garcia | Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts (OCASA) |
| Top 10 Employee | Ruben | Gonzalez | Fairmont Schools, Historic Anaheim Campus |
| Top 10 Employee | Kylie | Hammer | Red Hill Lutheran School |
| Top 10 Employee | Chris | Hernandez | Maple Elementary School |
| Top 10 Employee | Manny | Macias | La Habra High School |
| Top 10 Employee | Nancy | Nguyen | Fairmont Preparatory Academy |
| Top 10 Employee | Victor | Ugalde | Godinez Fundamental High School |
| Employee | Rebecca | Casas | Little Scholars Academy of California |
| Employee | Dennia | Reyes | La Vista High School |
| Employee | Trish | Rogan | Ethel Dwyer Middle School |
2026 Top Leader Finalists
| Top Leader | Christina | Stevenson-Carrera | Foothill Ranch Elementary |
| Top 5 Leader | Jennifer | Gass | La Madera Elementary School |
| Top 5 Leader | Kimberly | Slawson | De Portola Elementary School |
| Top 5 Leader | Jennifer | Tafolla | Heritage Oak Private School |
| Top 5 Leader | Agnes | Vasquez | Arroyo Elementary School |
| Leader | Kim | Crackower | Robert H. Lange Preschool |
| Leader | Dawn | Lam | Del Cerro Elementary School |
| Leader | Bryan | Rechtien | Oxford Preparatory Academy, South Orange County |
| Leader | Liz | Weber | Red Hill Lutheran School |
Make sure to read through our Nomination Criteria for how judging works.
