Nancy Parra-Quinlan, a seventh/eighth grade STEM/CTE teacher at Kino Junior High School in the Mesa Public Schools district, is one of five teachers named finalists for the Arizona Educational Foundation’s 2022 Arizona Teacher of the Year Award, presented by Desert Financial.

These five finalists, known as “Ambassadors for Excellence,” are in the running for Arizona Teacher of the Year, which will be announced during the awards ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 16, according to a release.

Tickets for the ceremony are at azedfoundation.org/teachersrock.

Five semifinalists, while no longer in the running for the award, remain part of the “2022 Top Ten Teachers of the Year” and will be honored during the awards ceremony and at various events throughout next year.

The 2022 Arizona Teacher of the Year and four Ambassadors for Excellence also receive professional speech and media training to aid them in delivering hundreds of presentations during their year of recognition. AEF also has partners who provide gifts to the top 10 teachers including a free membership to Treasures4Teachers, scholarships from the Arizona K12 Center to pursue National Board Certification, on-field recognition during the Fiesta Bowl, and the opportunity to ride on the APS fire engine during the Fiesta Bowl Parade, the release states.

The annual Teacher of the Year program is an event of the Arizona Educational Foundation, a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to spotlighting and championing the exceptional work of public schools.

Sara Wyffels, a Spanish teacher at Chandler High School in the Chandler Unified School District, is the reigning 2021 Arizona Teacher of the Year.