Sacramento County 2023 Teachers of the Year

Elk Grove Unified and San Juan Unified Teachers Advance to State Competition

Sacramento, Calif.- A high school English teacher and a middle school science/drama/art teacher are the two Sacramento County 2023 Teachers of the Year. The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) announced that the two had been selected last Friday evening at a banquet celebrating 12 teachers selected by districts in Sacramento County as District Teachers of the Year.

The two Sacramento County Teachers of the Year are Rachel Baird, an 11th- and 12th-grade English teacher at Cosumnes Oaks High School (Elk Grove Unified School District), and Logan Grinsell a 6th- and 8th-grade science, drama, and art teacher at John Barrett Middle School (San Juan Unified School District). Both teachers are now eligible to advance to the statewide competition where five teachers will be chosen as California Teachers of the Year.

A selection committee comprised of education professionals, including previous Sacramento County Teachers of the Year, interviewed 12 local district Teachers of the Year and chose the two 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.)

Sacramento County Board of Education President Paul A. Keefer, MBA, Ed.D., presented the two winners with the Elinor Lincoln Hickey Award of Merit, the highest honor bestowed by the County Board of Education. Ivan Guzman, representing long-time TOY supporter Sacramento Scottish Rite, awarded perpetual trophies.

Throughout the school year, all 12 Sacramento-area teachers who were named Teacher of the Year by their district are honored at events, including ones hosted by the Sacramento Kings and River Cats. The Sacramento Republic FC honored the Teachers of the Year at a special halftime ceremony at a match earlier this month.

The Sacramento County Teacher of the Year program is presented by SCOE in partnership with the Sacramento Kings, the Sacramento Republic FC, the Sacramento River Cats, Intel Corporation Folsom, SAFE Credit Union, and the Sacramento Scottish Rite.