The League of Education Voters (LEV), a statewide education advocacy group, will host a free webinar tomorrow, March 27, on the topic “Maintaining Strong and Welcoming Public Schools.” The discussion panel will include several Washington State Teacher of the Year award winners
“Executive orders at the federal level are targeting students who are undocumented, students who identify as LBGTQ+, students who come from low-income backgrounds, and students with disabilities,” says Arik Korman, LEV executive director, who will moderate the discussion. “Now more than ever, it is crucial to maintain strong and welcoming public schools.”
Korman says the Teachers of the Year participants will share what they are hearing from students, families, and colleagues in their community about how the current school year is going and what students need now, especially in the face of massive changes at the federal level.
Students from across Washington state will also offer their feedback.
Panelists include:
- Minal Gowda, a junior at Lincoln High School in Seattle Public Schools and a member of the Association of Washington Student Leaders (AWSL)
- Naomi Elsing, a junior at Lincoln High School in Seattle Public Schools and a member of the Association of Washington Student Leaders (AWSL)
- Mackenzie Rosner, a senior at Ridgeline High School in the Central Valley School District and a member of the Association of Washington Student Leaders (AWSL)
- Leonel Perez Valenzuela, a senior at Summit Atlas Public School in Seattle
- Kim Broomer, the 2025 Washington state Teacher of the Year and Kindergarten Teacher at Ruby Bridges Elementary School in the Northshore School District, which is part of the Inclusionary Practices Technical Assistance Network (IPTN)
- Jerad Koepp, the 2022 Washington state Teacher of the Year and Native Student Program Specialist at North Thurston Public Schools
- Brooke Brown, the 2021 Washington state Teacher of the Year, Instructional Equity Specialist at Franklin Pierce Schools, and Board Member of the Washington State Board of Education
- Amy Campbell, the 2020 Washington state Teacher of the Year, special education teacher at Helen Baller Elementary School in the Camas School District, and Board Member of the Washington State Professional Educator Standards Board
- Mandy Manning, the 2018 Washington state Teacher of the Year, the 2018 National Teacher of the Year, and Digital Content Specialist for the Washington Education Association
- Lyon Terry, the 2015 Washington state Teacher of the Year and Principal at Midway Elementary School in Highline Public Schools
Live Spanish interpretation and closed captioning in English will be provided. Those who cannot attend the event live are invited to register anyway to receive a link to a recording of the webinar.
To register go to bit.ly/wa_teachers_of_the_year_2025
