ANNOUNCER: This program is made by MPT to enrich the diverse communities throughout our state and is made possible by the generous support of our members.

Thank you.

♪♪ NICKY ZIZAZA: Welcome, everyone, to the 35th Annual Teacher of the Year Gala presented by the Maryland State Department of Education.

It has been said that teaching is the one career that makes all others possible.

Tonight's celebration is a testament to the dedication and passion that these 24 outstanding educators bring to classrooms across the state.

So when we think about teachers who made a difference in our own lives, we know that we owe far more than we can ever repay.

The educators being honored tonight represent a small fraction of the teaching excellence found in all 24 Maryland school systems, and we thank them all for what they do every day for our children.

And now it is time to meet them.

♪♪ JACQUELINE SANDERSON: I love creating a classroom where English learners feel confident, celebrated, and ready to shine.

I help my students recognize their incredible strengths and perspectives that make our school community richer.

Through teamwork, goal setting, and strong connections, we build a space that feels like family, where every student belongs and every place matters.

JEVONS LIU: Every morning I wake up excited for the chance to do this work, and that feeling hasn't changed since the very first day I started.

Of course there are tough moments, but my love for teaching never changes.

I'm grateful for the amazing support around me, and for students who inspire me by pushing themselves every single day.

ALONNA SOWARD-PURYEAR: One of my strengths as a teacher is being able to be innovative in the way that I help meet students needs.

I can look at these students individually, and I might have to get a little creative in how I help them learn a specific topic.

But this also means that I'm innovative when it comes to helping meet my student's needs socially as well.

NATALIE PRETZELLO: Social and emotional wellness skills help my band students persevere through academic and life challenges.

In class my students lead breathing exercises initiate conflict resolution and celebrate the contributions of each individual.

By learning to collaborate we can make music that celebrates our differences.

MARCIE MAMAS: I strive to transform my classroom into real world experiences.

Through hands on projects students don't just learn marketing and management, they live it.

They plan events, manage budgets, collaborate with local businesses, and lead teams.

These experiences instill confidence, resilience and a sense of purpose.

Preparing them for both careers and life.

EMMA COHN MATTHEWS: What sets me apart as a teacher is my adaptability.

No two groups of students and no two days are the same.

I see unpredictability not as an obstacle, but as an opportunity to grow with my students.

That flexibility helps me meet them where they are and ensure every learner feels seen, supported and challenged.

PHILLIP CROPPER: Meeting my students this year was a reminder of why I teach, to ignite potential.

Each face that walks into my classroom brings a unique gift, and it's my purpose to connect them to real experiences that show them they belong.

They matter and their future is limitless and bright.

That first day is not just the start of school.

It's the start of a possibility.

BRIAN THOMPSON: In front of you are alumni and current students of the Westminster Elementary School band program.

These students have either been playing for two years and currently starting their sixth grade program this year.

And I have a few students who are fifth graders and have been playing their instrument one year as of next week.

Yes, it's your anniversary next week, and we have a tradition at our school that goes back 35 years, approximately where our last concert we play Louie Louie.

So we're bringing a little bit of Westminster Elementary tradition to the teacher of the year gala.

So here is Louie Louie.

[Applause] Here we go and one, two, and one, two.

Ready?

And.

♪♪ [Applause] THOMPSON: Here we go.

One, two, three and bow.

[Applause] DR.

CAREY WRIGHT: Tonight we shine a spotlight on 24 exceptional Teachers of the Year.

Each representing the heart and soul of their school districts.

You are here because you have gone above and beyond.

Not just in your classrooms, but in your communities.

You are innovators, mentors, advocates, and leaders.

You are the reason Maryland students dream bigger and reach higher.

Having started my own journey in education as a classroom teacher, I know firsthand the challenges and triumphs that come with this work.

Teaching is not simply a job, it's a mission.

It demands creativity, compassion, and the unshakable belief in the potential of every child.

You are the ones who greet students with hope, even on the hardest days.

You're the ones who see possibilities, where others see obstacles.

You're the ones that make learning come alive.

And while the world may not always see the full scope of what you do, your students do.

Their growth, their confidence.

Their success.

That is your legacy.

To our superintendents and principals and central office teams.

Thank you for championing our educators and creating environments where excellence can flourish.

To the families and loved ones of our honorees.

Thank you for your support, your patience, and your belief in the power of education.

Your sacrifices make this work possible.

To our corporate sponsors and partners.

Your investment in public education is an investment in Maryland's future.

We are grateful for your continued commitment to our schools and to our teachers.

and to our university partners.

Thank you for preparing the next generation of educators.

Your work ensures that Maryland classrooms will continue to be led by passionate, skilled professionals.

Teachers, you are the foundation of every profession, every dream, and every achievement.

You are the reason students discover their strengths, pursue their passions, and believe in themselves.

And as we celebrate you tonight, know that your work matters deeply.

You have earned the admiration of your peers.

The gratitude of your communities and the respect of this entire state.

Congratulations on this extraordinary honor.

You deserve every minute of this.

So thank you so much.

[Applause] DR.

JOSHUA MICHAEL: On behalf of the Maryland State Board of Education.

I am honored to be here tonight to celebrate the incredible educators who shape the future of our state.

Your dedication and creativity make Maryland schools places of possibility and promise.

Tonight, I have the distinct pleasure of introducing someone who embodies all of those qualities and more.

Kat Locke-Jones.

Our 2025 Maryland Teacher of the Year.

[Applause] Kat teaches seventh grade English language arts at Hampstead Hill Academy, where she's known not just for her skillful instruction, and it is excellent, but for the way that she empowers students to find their voice.

Her classroom is a space where literature meets life, and where every student is encouraged to write their own story, literally and figuratively.

Her impact extends far beyond the school walls.

Kat is a co-founder of SL 24 and Sean's House, a foundation focused on youth mental health and suicide prevention.

Through this work, she's helped countless young people navigate life's challenges with courage and support.

And while she's recently taken the mound to pitch at Camden Yards, Kat has symbolically pitched a perfect game in the classroom uplifting students, inspiring colleagues, and advocating for mental wellness.

Kat Locke-Jones is more than a teacher.

She is a changemaker, a connector, and a champion for youth.

This past year, as the Maryland Teacher of the Year wasn't about singular moments.

It was about the lessons.

The ones I learned from my students, my colleagues, from all of you here tonight.

I'm so incredibly thankful to Doctor Wright, Doctor Michaels, the whole Maryland State Department of Education team for this incredible year.

Of course, I'm thankful to Baltimore City Public Schools and Doctor S. This year has been filled with meaningful and courageous conversations.

And when I think about those conversations, here's what I've come to realize.

Words matter, but only when they're tied to action, and teachers do just that.

That's what makes their words so powerful.

We've all had moments when a single sentence from a teacher can change the entire course of our lives.

For me, it was my senior year English teacher.

I had just handed him my yearbook after our usual, Kat can you stay after class?

Daily tradition.

As a proud class clown, I thought Mr.

Beano was going to give me some feedback on my comedy routine, but instead, his usual warm smile, pause.

He told me he wanted to talk to me about a paper I wrote.

I laughed at him because I scored an 89.

I thought he was kidding.

The retired jokesters in the room here will tell you that an 89 is truly the perfect grade.

Good enough where I wasn't going to get in trouble with my parents, but an okay enough grade where the teachers weren't going to get used to it.

At that moment, Mr.

Beano sat me down and he said, I'm going to, I'm not going to call you out.

I'm going to call you in.

He handed me my paper back and said, you're a better writer than this.

Prove me right.

The next morning, I handed him a begrudgingly rewritten paper and he handed me back my yearbook.

When I flipped to the back page, I saw he wrote, you will make a fine English teacher one day and one day may you teach a Kat Locke of your very own.

Those words stayed with me, especially when I taught more social students.

Mr.

Beano's words became the compass that guided me straight into this profession.

Many of you in this room have your own story like that.

Maybe it wasn't written in a yearbook, but a teacher said something, believed something about you that shifted your path forever.

The teachers who we're honoring here tonight, each of them are authors of life changing words for someone.

They write light in the margins of their students lives because at their best, our teachers aren't just grading papers or filling out lesson plans.

They're sketching possibilities into blank spaces, reminding kids that they're more than the sum of their test scores.

The teachers that we're celebrating tonight call their students in, handing them a pen to write their own stories.

They tell their students to prove them right.

The 2026 Teachers of the Year, their words, their actions, they don't just stay on the page.

They stay in the heart and they change kids lives for the better.

Thank you.

[Applause] ALISA JOSEPH: Good evening.

It's an honor to be here tonight.

Representing Northrop Grumman and as a presenting sponsor of the Maryland Teacher of the year award.

As a daughter of two educators, I started my formative years excited about education.

However, I became discouraged with early challenges understanding math.

Multiplication was a challenge for me.

So my mom decided to record multiplication tables from 0 to 12, and every night she would start the tape recording and I would listen as I fell asleep repeating them.

Zero times zero is zero.

Zero times one is zero, zero times two is zero, and so on.

It wasn't too long before I knew all of my multiplication tables from 0 to 12.

See my mom, a science educator, knew that some minds take hold of memorization before comprehension.

I was educated in the Howard County public school system, where love of history fed my curiosity of some of the earliest civilizations.

But with a math and science educator for parents, I had no choice but to go into a STEM field.

I went to Morgan State University, a public institution, and found a love of engineering, which involved way more physics than I anticipated.

And there were definitely stressful moments.

One of my toughest professors, Dr.

Salimian, said something that I remember to this day.

We had a particularly tough exam, and the entire class kept inquiring about when we would get our grades back.

Dr.

Salimian said, does the grade matter more than what you learned?

Secretly, I thought, he obviously doesn't know my parents.

But the truth is, learning is what set humans apart.

The ability to evolve and develop logic and advanced thinking is behind every major innovation.

As a teacher, you drive the evolution of thought in all of us.

You are there from the earliest age and witness the innocent curiosity that grows into the thought leaders of science, English, math and history.

Tonight we celebrate all the finalists who embody the very best of Maryland's educators, those who stand up every day to guide, inspire, and shape the future.

Your leadership in the classroom has a ripple effect far beyond the school walls.

To this year's Teacher of the Year, your leadership, your dedication, and your impact in the classroom will now inspire students and educators, not just here in Maryland, but across the country.

On behalf of Northrop Grumman and all of the sponsors, congratulations on your remarkable achievement.

Best of luck as you represent the great state on the national stage.

Thanks.

[Applause] CHRISTOPHER MANN: Good evening everyone.

For the high school teachers here in the room, it probably doesn't surprise you, but many of your students leave school and I get to have them now for the next 5 or 6 hours.

The work that you do, puts them on my stage and now I begin to teach them some skills about how to be an adult, how to have a job, how to build a work ethic.

But this night is about the 24 people who won their county.

And in Baltimore City, that's always weird that you're not a county, but you're a city.

But there's 24 of you.

Congratulations to all of you.

You all are winners.

I want to applaud all of you.

[Applause] The excellence that you bring into the classroom, the stories behind the work that you do, is just awe-inspiring.

I've loved throughout the years meeting so many people, hearing the unique things that you do.

Those things have been recognized that brought you to this point.

It is really such a great night.

I applaud the State of Maryland for doing such a great job with their program.

Thank you to the Maryland Department of Education.

Um, this is a special night, so I want to close by saying thank you to all of you, all the educators, the administrators.

Without you, Maryland could not be the great place it is.

And you guys every day are working to make it even better.

Thank you so much.

[Applause] ZIZAZA: So while tonight's gala might be your first exposure to Teacher of the Year, the program is actually a yearlong commitment for all 24 educators.

So throughout their service year, the teachers participate in team building and professional learning activities, as well as serve as public education advocates.

So we also make sure they have time for fun.

The program includes a retreat at the Smith Island Environmental Education Center, STEM Immersion day, Teacher of the Year Day in Annapolis, the Teachers of Promise Institute, and taking in an Orioles baseball game.

So that's going to be great.

It is now my great pleasure to introduce our seven finalists, beginning with Jacqueline Sanderson, Anne Arundel County Public Schools.

[Clapping] Jevons Liu, Baltimore City Public Schools.

[Cheering] Alonna Soward-Puryear, Frederick County Public Schools.

[Cheers] Natalie Pezzullo, Howard County Public School system.

[Cheers] Marcie, Mamas Queen Anne's County Public Schools.

[Clapping] Emma Cohn Matthews, Wicomico County Public Schools.

[Cheers] Philip Crocker, Worcester County Public Schools.

[Cheers] Dr.

Michael, the envelope, please.

The winner for the 2026 Teacher of the Year is, Alonna Soward-Puryear.

[Cheering and applause] SOWARD-PURYEAR: I first wanted to say congratulations again to my fellow educators being recognized tonight.

Can we give them all a round of applause?

[Applause] What a joy it is to be surrounded by such talent, passion, and heart for students each and every day.

I'm so excited for the year ahead.

Working together, learning, growing and celebrate- celebrating alongside all of you.

Being named Maryland State Teacher of the Year is an incredible honor, one that I could have only ever dreamed of.

I accept that this not- I accept this not just as a recognition of my own work, but as a reflection of every teacher.

Shout out to my colleagues!

[Cheers] But as a reflection of every teacher who shows up before the sun rises, who finds new ways to reach that one student who needs just a little bit more, and who pours themselves into this work day after day.

I'm standing here representing the thousands of voices that make Maryland education strong.

To my husband, thank you for always believing in me and your unwavering support and dealing with all of my things I need to get for my themes in my classroom and everything I need for Spirit Day because we go all out in our household.

At least I do.

To my parents, thank you for teaching me to value education and being the foundation I needed to be here today and be successful.

[Applause] To my big brother, thank you for being a listening ear at seven o'clock in the morning while you're on the way to clean teeth, and I'm on the way to work with kids.

To Frederick County Public Schools, thank you for shaping me first as a student that now allows me to serve and support so many students of my own.

To my family, my friends and my colleagues, thank you for the amazing educators that you have, that you have- the amazing educator that you have helped me become.

Thank you for standing behind me and cheering me on and reminding us, reminding me why this work matters.

And to all the other family and friends, thank you so much for the people you support because we could not do this job without that support system in and out of the school building.

And of course, thank you to the sponsors, the coordinators, the venue staff and the band for making this night a night to remember.

This honor is a reminder that- of what's possible when we keep our students at the center of everything that we do.

My promise to all of you as Maryland State Teacher of the Year is to use my platform to keep pushing forward, to keep opening doors for our students, creating opportunities and ensuring that every child in Ma- in Maryland can see a path to their future.

Thank you so much for being here tonight, and thank you for this honor.

[Applause] ZIZAZA: All right.

Congratulations!

This marks the start of an amazing year filled with new opportunities for professional growth and development.

Thank you so much for being here tonight to honor all twenty-four Teachers of the Year in Maryland and good night.