Contact: Xanthi Soriano, Executive Director, Communications
Cell: (916) 261-6219 • Email: xsoriano@scoe.net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, August 25, 2025
WHAT: The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) honored this year’s district teachers of the year and announced two county winners at its annual Teachers of the Year recognition ceremony.
WHEN: Ceremony held Friday, August 22, 2025 (6 p.m.)
WHERE: Hilton Sacramento Arden West (2200 Harvard St., Sacramento, CA)
WHO: Teachers of the Year and representatives from nine local school districts, a charter school, and SCOE
The top teachers for 2025–26 are Bethany Hancock, a 3rd-grade teacher at Elk Grove Elementary School in the Elk Grove Unified School District, and Derek Tahara, a 3rd-grade teacher at David Lubin Elementary School in the Sacramento City Unified School District.
Sacramento County Board of Education Trustees O. Alfred Brown Sr., Vanessa Caigoy, Heather Davis, and SCOE-Appointed Board Member Representing Students Nairobi Dunbar presented the two teachers with the top honor the Board bestows: the Elinor Lincoln Hickey Award of Merit. The Sacramento Scottish Rite also continued a long-running tradition of awarding perpetual trophies to the winners.
WHY: The two winners join an elite group of teachers who have represented Sacramento County over the years in the California State Teachers of the Year program. Previous Sacramento County Teachers of the Year are listed online—including Elinor Hickey, the namesake of the award presented to the two teachers. Hickey was County Teacher of the Year in 1978, and a SCOE community school is named after her.
About the County Teachers of the Year Program
A selection committee comprised of education professionals—including previous Sacramento County Teachers of the Year—interviewed and read a series of essays from 13 local Teachers of the Year. After tallying the scores, the two with the highest scores rose to the top as the winners. All local educational agencies are invited to nominate a teacher to participate in the program each year. (Large districts are eligible to nominate two teachers.) The program is presented by SCOE, in partnership with the Sacramento Kings, the Sacramento Republic FC, the Sacramento River Cats, the Sacramento Scottish Rite, and SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union.