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EDUCATION
Tolleson educator a finalist for Arizona Teacher of the Year
Awards ceremony to take place Oct. 14 in Phoenix
(Photo provided by Urias Communications)
Efrain Casillas, a teacher for 22 years who works with both the Tolleson Elementary School District and Nadaburg Unified School District, is a finalist for Arizona Teacher of the Year.
Posted
IF YOU GO
What: Arizona Teacher of the Year Awards ceremony
When: Saturday, Oct. 14
Where: Madison Center for the Arts, 5601 N. 16th St., Phoenix
Madison Center for the Arts 5601 N. 16th St. Phoenix, AZ
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Special to Independent Newsmedia
A Tolleson teacher is among five finalists in contention for the Arizona Educational Foundation 2024 Arizona Teacher of the Year Award.
Efrain Casillas is a music teacher at Porfirio H. Gonzales Elementary School, 9401 W. Garfield St., in Tolleson, and at Desert Oasis Elementary, 17161 W. Bajada Road, in Surprise. Serving both the Tolleson Elementary School District and Nadaburg Unified School District in Wittmann, Casillas has been a teacher for 22 years.
Desert Financial Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of this year’s Teacher of the Year Awards ceremony. The educator ultimately selected as Arizona Teacher of the Year becomes the state’s candidate for National Teacher of the Year.
Andrea Barallardos with Douglas High School; Marian Johnson with the Amphitheater School District; Kathleen Malkhassian with the Flagstaff Unified School District; and Rebecca Oravec with the Sahuarita Unified School District, are the other finalists.
The five finalists, known as “Ambassadors for Excellence,” are in the running for Arizona Teacher of the Year, which will be announced during the Arizona Teacher of the Year Awards ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 14. The event takes place at the Madison Center for the Arts, 5601 N. 16th St., in Phoenix.