AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — In the latest episode of the Education Connection, KAMR Local 4 News’ Anchor Mari Ferrel sat down Emily Stowers from Western Plateau Elementary and Deepa Sobha from Palo Duro High School to talk about their careers and their reaction when receiving the 2026 Amarillo ISD Teachers of the Year award.
Emily Stowers received 2026 AISD Elementary Teacher of the Year. She is originally from Friona and participated in FCCLA, FFA, and 4H during her high school years. She went to Texas Tech University to pursue a degree in family consumer sciences. She also has a master’s degree.
Stowers first started teaching part time at Amarillo College and then went on to work full time at the AC West Campus. During the episode, she mentioned she missed the energy of a classroom and went to teach elementary school and taught 5th grade. She has been teaching for 15 years total.
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Deepa Sobha received the 2026 AISD Secondary Teacher of the Year award. She mentioned that she did high school, an undergrad degree in physics with a minor in math, and a master’s degree in India. She has always loved math and science. She taught in India for one year and then moved to the United States about 20 years ago…