Although it was pajama day at Mecca Elementary School on Thursday, May 22, nobody could sleep through the drum line, cheerleaders, and flag team, who performed in celebration of teacher Marisa Gaytan, who was surprised with the news that she had been selected as a 2026 Riverside County Teacher of the Year.
More than 100 students, along with her family and colleagues, filled the multi-purpose room of the same Coachella Valley Unified School District campus where Marisa attended as a child, and where she is completing her 9th year as a 4th grade dual-language teacher.
“I’m very proud of this school. It’s my home. It is where beautiful things happen and I always tell my students, if I can do it, you can do it as well because I was just like you,” Marisa Gaytan said to more than one hundred students gathered in the multi-purpose room for the surprise announcement. “I truly believe that it’s important for everyone to feel welcome and belong. We are a family and each of our successes are all of our successes…