Matthew Gage Middle School

Riverside Unified School District

Heather Zaragoza teaches RSP/SDC students and provides intensive support in English language arts. Her lessons are so good, some severely handicapped students are pulled from their program for English. Heather makes home visits and has daily check-ins/check-outs when students need extra support. She taps ed-tech games such as Kahoot to liven up learning. As a member of the leadership and equity teams, she advocates for students first.

Finalists: Amna Ahmad; Eric Aldana; Mary (Becky) Baez; Heather Borjon; Benjamin Bishop; Cindy Cao; Kirk Carroll, Ethan A. Chase; Brielle Cornelison; Susan Frasca; Stephanie Garland; Kazryn Gess; Jennifer Hanrahan; Dave Harrison; Vinh Ho; Matt Jones; Kelly Larned; Heather Michalski; Krista Moomey; Silvia Muniz; Ashley Ortiz; Channy Pimentel; Gabriela Reyes; Kendra Silas; Madison Vassalli; Teresa Zabalsa