Sacramento County's 14 district Teachers of the Year 2011 were honored at Raley Field on Monday, May 2, during a special pre-game ceremony before the Sacramento River Cats/Salt Lake Bees baseball game.
The reigning Sacramento County Teachers of the Year, Shannan Brown, from Edison Elementary in the San Juan Unified School District, and Kadhir Rajagopal, from Grant High School in the Twin Rivers Unified School District, were among the honorees. Both, also chosen as California Teachers of the Year 2011, threw out a ceremonial first pitch.
Prior to the ceremony, the River Cats hosted honorees and their guests to a pre-game reception. During the reception, the teachers received words of praise from Sacramento County Interim Superintendent of Schools Sue Stickel and Tony Asaro, River Cats Vice-President of Community Relations.
Schools Financial Credit Union Membership Development Specialist Holly Brown also was on hand to thank the teachers for their dedication to children and families and to give them special gift bags courtesy of Schools Financial Credit Union.
This is the fifth year for the Sacramento River Cats to recognize the area's top teachers with an evening specifically dedicated to the area's Teachers of the Year. On February 4, 2011 the Teachers of the Year were honored in an on-court ceremony during the Sacramento Kings/San Antonio Spurs game. At a special dinner on April 19, the Sacramento County Teachers of the Year were honored by the Sacramento Scottish Rite Bodies of Freemasonry.
The Sacramento County Teachers of the Year Program is coordinated annually by the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) to recognize the achievements of local educators and to raise awareness of the valuable role that teachers play in the lives of their students and in the community.
Information about the Teachers of the Year program is available online or by phoning the Sacramento County Office of Education at (916) 228-2417.