A teacher from the Queen Creek Unified School District was given an honorable mention in the Arizona Educational Foundation’s 2025 Teacher of the Year Awards.

Lara Cox, a K-sixth physical education teacher at Faith Mather Sossaman Elementary School, will be honored at the Arizona Teacher of the Year Awards ceremony on Oct. 19.

Cox has served as a teacher for 17 years. She is one of five quarterfinalists for the award this year and may be nominated again in the future.

On Tuesday, the Arizona Educational Foundation named its 10 semifinalists for Teacher of the Year. The teachers come from Phoenix, Deer Valley, Gilbert, Flagstaff, Page, Vail and Flowing Wells.

“Considered the ‘Oscar Awards’ for teachers, the educator selected as the Arizona Teacher of the Year will represent our state in the National Teacher of the Year competition,” a press release from AEF stated.

A total of 625 teachers from across the state were nominated for the award and an independent panel of past winners and community members narrowed the candidates down to 15  quarterfinalists.

The 10 teachers with the highest scores after the application round next are now in the semifinal round, the release stated.

The teachers in the semifinals will be scored on an in-person interview with the selection committee, a lesson demonstration and an impromptu speech.

AEF has served as the state coordinator for the National Teacher of the Year program since 1983. Any certified full-time teacher working in a state-accredited public school or Bureau of Indian Education school is eligible to be nominated.

Nominations can come from students, colleagues, administrators, family members, friends or the teachers themselves.