Designed to honor exceptional teachers in the district, the Nevada Teacher of the Year program announced this year’s finalists, which included English teacher Laura Penrod. After teaching in the district for over fifteen years in English and Special Education, while also acting as the Senior Policy Fellow with Teach Plus Nevada, Penrod’s dedication to her students and field was recognized in this contest.

“I wouldn’t be a Teacher of the Year without all of these students in the room, so I would like to thank them first,” Penrod said. “Without you, there is no me, thank you for being here to celebrate me being a finalist.”

Students and teachers gathered in the ballroom to surprise Penrod with the announcement. Former Teacher of the Year award recipient, Melanie Teemant, presented Penrod with the news. 

“We would like to honor you, obviously all of these people in the room are here to celebrate you,” Teemant said. “You were chosen because you’re extraordinary, you do extraordinary things with kids, and that is why you are being celebrated. I celebrate all the things you do to change the lives of children.”

Principal Donna Levy planned the surprise for Penrod.

“That was the most difficult thing,” Levy said. “I had to meet my secretary pretty much all alone because there’s just too many moving parts and pieces on this campus. And if I let it get out, I knew it’d be everywhere. She knows everybody and everybody loves her. So everybody would have told her. So we had to quietly plan that out.”