Finalists For Oklahoma teacher Of The Year Named

The finalists for the 2015 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year were named on Wednesday.

State Superintendent Janet Barresi announced the 12 candidates at the Vision 2020 education conference in downtown Oklahoma City.

“Announcing the finalist in the Oklahoma Teacher of the Year competition is one of my favorite things to do,” Barresi said.

“These teachers bring creativity, skill and passion into their classrooms every day, and their students and colleagues take note. It is uplifting to be able to tell the state about these exceptional educators. I congratulate them, and I’m looking forward to learning more about them in the coming months.”

A panel of Oklahoma educators selected two finalists from each of six regions of the state. Each finalist is a current teacher of the year in their school district.

The finalists are:

Tonya Lynn Boyle, fifth grade teacher at H. Cecil Rhoades Elementary School in Broken Arrow Public Schools. 

Cynthia Brown, AP English Language and Composition and Humanities teacher at Piedmont High School in Piedmont Public Schools. 

Roger Clement, Physical Science, Biology, Chemistry and Chemistry II teacher at Noble High School in Noble Public Schools. 

Amber L. Elder, first and second grade teacher at James L. Dennis Elementary School in Putnam City Schools. 

Adam Forester, Chemistry, Pre-AP Chemistry, AP Chemistry and Earth Science teacher at Bethany High School in Bethany Public Schools. 

Monica Hodgden, Pre-Kindergarten teacher at Woodward Early Childhood Center in Woodward Public Schools. 

James LeGrand, AP U.S. History, America in the 1960s and Civil War and Reconstruction teacher at Altus High School in Altus Public Schools. 

Jennifer Luttmer, second grade teacher at Liberty Elementary School in Sallisaw Public Schools. 

Romney Nesbitt, art teacher at Jenks West Intermediate School in Jenks Public Schools. 

Jason Scott Proctor, Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-Calculus and AP Calculus teacher at Tahlequah High School in Tahlequah Public Schools. 

Diane Walker, All-Honors Oklahoma History, World History, Government and Geography teacher at Muskogee High School in Muskogee Public Schools.

LeaAnn J. Wyrick, Geography teacher at McCall Middle School in Atoka Public Schools. 

An independent panel will select the winner. The ceremony will be held in the fall.