2026 Alameda County Teacher of the Year Awards Ceremony

Tickets will be available at the door on Thursday, October 1.

Tickets may be purchased at the event. Card or cash accepted.

Annually, the Alameda County Office of Education is proud to honor our exceptional public school teachers through the Teacher of the Year program. It is an opportunity to recognize extraordinary dedication and commitment, educational innovation, and student learning.

Reception starts at 5:30pm and includes light food and beverage.

Ceremony begins at 6:30pm.

This year’s district honorees are:

• Alameda County Office of Education - Tyler Rust
• Alameda Unified School District - Katherine Werner
• Castro Valley Unified School District - Effie Hsu
• Dublin Unified School District - Jericho Griffin
• Eden Area Regional Occupational Program - Megan Bello
• Emery Unified School District - Leslie Payne
• Fremont Unified School District - Cristina Quezada
• Hayward Unified School District - Elizabeth Londry
• Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District - Melissa Smith
• Mission Valley Regional Occupational Program - Michelle Cimino
• New Haven Unified School District - John Sowell
• Newark Unified School District - Diana Kotake-Gomez
• Oakland Unified School District - Iyla Ollinger
• Oakland Unified School District - Dawn James
• Oakland Unified School District - Megan Hatschek
• Pleasanton Unified School District - Greg Dankwardt
• San Leandro Unified School District - Anthony Farley
• San Lorenzo Unified School District - Anneka Harper-Knox
• Tri-Valley Regional Occupational Program - Alysa Machado Oliver

Alameda County’s education community of more than 12,000 teachers are everyday heroes, dedicated to serving and supporting the youth of one of the most diverse counties in California.