Deer Valley Unified School District is home to a top-five finalist in the 2026 America’s Favorite Teacher competition.
Dr. Melanie Poll, a first-grade teacher at Las Brisas Elementary School, has advanced more than a month into the nationwide contest, placing in the top five of her group. She is now moving into the group finals round, where public voting will determine a single winner from each group who will advance to the quarterfinals.
America’s Favorite Teacher, run by Colossal, is a public voting competition that awards a $25,000 cash prize, a trip to Hawaii, a feature in Reader’s Digest and a school assembly with Bill Nye. Voting also supports the Planetary Society, with the 2026 competition set to conclude the first week of June…