Colorado Teacher of the Year

Each year, the Colorado Teacher of the Year Program honors an exceptionally dedicated, knowledgeable, and skilled K-12 classroom teacher to represent the entire profession in the state. The selected teacher will automatically become Colorado’s nominee for the National Teacher of the Year competition. The national program is a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers. Visit the National Teacher of the Year program webpage for more information.

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2020 Colorado Teacher of the Year finalists announced

The Colorado Department of Education announced seven finalists for the 2020 Colorado Teacher of the Year competition, with the sole finalist to be announced by Nov. 1.

See the news release about the announcement to learn more about each candidate.

2019 Colorado Teacher of the Year

Margaret "Meg" Cypress is a fifth-grade teacher at Bradley International School in Denver Public Schools and was named the 2019 Teacher of the Year in October 2018. In this video, Meg shares about her teaching style, in which she uses a project-based learning style. Meg also explains how the process of applying for the Teacher of the Year award provided her insight into why she loves to teach. 

2019 Colorado Teacher of the Year

Meg Cypress, a fifth-grade teacher from Bradley International School in Denver Public Schools (DPS), was named the 2019 Colorado Teacher of the Year during a surprise assembly at her school on October 30, 2018. Ms. Cypress was selected for the honor based on her energy and for her exceptional ability to inspire and excite students, parents, other teachers, administrators.

At Bradley since 2003, Ms. Cypress started as a reading specialist as the school faced the possibility of closure. Cypress worked with the staff to bring the International Baccalaureate Program’s Primary Years Programme to Bradley to keep it open for the surrounding neighborhood. Since then the school has become a high-performing school with a waitlist.
 
Ms. Cypress has built connections with the community, organizing family events such as Math Night, the Cardboard Challenge and the Annual Bradley Science Fair. In addition, she started a summer camp at Bradley with more than 150 students and was assistant volleyball coach for Thomas Jefferson High School. She is a Colorado native who received her bachelor of arts from the University of Northern Colorado. She has previously received the 9News Teachers Who Care Award and was nominated for the Denver Public Schools’ LAMP Leadership award by her colleagues at Bradley. 

As the 2019 Colorado Teacher of the Year, Ms. Cypress is participating in many professional development opportunities through the National Teacher of the Year program and will attend a ceremony at the White House. Over the summer, she will attend the Honeywell Educators at Space Academy at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama and the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in January 2020.

• Christina Randle, 2018 Colorado Teacher of the Year
• Sean Wybrant, 2017 Colorado Teacher of the Year 
• Leticia Ingram, 2016 Colorado Teacher of the Year
• Kathy Thirkell, 2015 Colorado Teacher of the Year
• Elizabeth Miner, 2014 Colorado Teacher of the Year
• Amanda Westenberg, 2013 Colorado Teacher of the Year
• Kristin Donley, 2012 Colorado Teacher of the Year

• Michele Pearson, 2011 Colorado Teacher of the Year
• Justin Darnell, 2010 Colorado Teacher of the Year
• Susan Elliott, 2009 Colorado Teacher of the Year
• Seth Berg, 2008 Colorado Teacher of the Year
• Susan Ryder, 2007 Colorado Teacher of the Year