Governor Ron DeSantis handing out $20 thousand checks to the five 2026 Teacher of the Year finalists today in Orlando.
The statewide winner will be named the Christa McAuliffe Ambassador for Education Thursday night taking home $50 thousand.
All of the 76 teachers named District Teachers of the Year each received a $10 thousand bonus.
The five finalists, four women and one man, are from Citrus, Columbia, Flagler, Liberty and Union Counties.
They include Flagler educator Brandy Nicole Anderson, a 7th grade civics and social studies teacher at Indian Trails Middle School, Autumn Crabtree, a culinary arts teacher at Crystal River High School in Citrus County; Mark Harrison, an economics and American government teacher for grades 9-12 at Union County High School; Shelly Teel, a third-grade teacher at Westside Elementary School in Columbia County; and Katy Jo Harrison, a first-grade teacher at Hosford Elementary and Junior High School.
The educators were selected for their leadership and outstanding instructional practices.
The governor attributed Florida's improved school performance to the shift from high-stakes end-of-year testing to year-round progress monitoring and thanked the teachers for their excellence in the classroom