Two teachers from the same department at the same Deer Valley Unified School District high school are now both among the five finalists vying to be Arizona’s teacher of the year.
The Arizona Educational Foundation has whittled its 10 semifinalists down to a final five candidates to take top honors at its annual banquet on Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Madison Center for the Arts in Phoenix.
Emmett Burnton, an AP World History teacher, and Ryan Donovan, who teaches AP U.S. History, are both teachers at Boulder Creek High School in Anthem, on the north end of Phoenix. Not only do they teach in the same history department and are among the final five hopefuls, they’re also close friends .
The five finalists, known as “Ambassadors for Excellence,” are in the running for Arizona Teacher of the Year. Along with Burnton and Donovan, the others are Tori Anderson (10th-11th grade English language arts), from Carl Hayden High School in the Phoenix Union High School District; Jodian Brown (4th grade reading, math and science) from Desert View Intermediate School of Page Unified School District; and Jennifer Spector (5th grade English language arts and social studies) from Desert View Elementary School of Washington Elementary School District.