RELEASE DATE: October 24th, 2019 Lynette Stant, a 3rd grade teacher at Salt River Elementary in the Salt River Schools district is the Arizona Educational Foundation’s 2020 Arizona Teacher of the Year. Stant was selected from the five 2020 Ambassadors for Excellence that were identified by the foundation last month and announced at the Arizona Educational Foundation’s annual awards luncheon today in front of more than 600 Arizona educators, elected officials and business lead

The winner will be announced, and the ten candidates will be honored at the annual Teacher of the Year Luncheon. See below for more details. PRESS PACKET 2020 Arizona Teacher of the Year Awards Luncheon Thursday, October 24, 2019, 11:30 am - 1:30pm Event Sponsor + Logistics Arizona Educational Foundation (AEF) AEF has been serving the state’s public education system as a champion of excellence in public schools across the state since 1983. Founded by former State Superintende

Phoenix, AZ, May 28, 2019 -- Arizona's representative at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, 6th grader Omkar Bharath of Scottsdale, made it to the third round of the competition before being eliminated. This was Omkar’s first time competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Omkar is a student at Desert Canyon Middle School in Scottsdale. You can learn more about Omkar’s background by clicking here. And you can learn more about Scripps National Spelling Bee preliminary res

Phoenix, Ariz., May 20, 2019 – The Arizona Spelling Bee Champion, Omkar Bharath, will represent Arizona in the 92nd Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee May 26th-31st. Omkar is 11 years old and attends Desert Canyon Middle School in the Scottsdale Unified School District. This year was his first time competing in the state spelling bee where he out-spelled 26 other competitors, winning the bee with the word "breviary." Omkar and his parents will be traveling to the Scripps Na

Scottsdale, Ariz., March 23, 2019 – Omkar Bharath, a 6th grader from Desert Canyon Middle School in Scottsdale (Maricopa County Region 2) out-spelled 26 other competitors to win the 2019 Arizona State Spelling Bee hosted by the Arizona Educational Foundation on Saturday, March 23, 2019 in Phoenix. Omkar correctly spelled the word “breviary” in the 24th round to win the bee. Omkar is 11 years old and attends Desert Canyon Middle School in Scottsdale. This is his first time com

Scottsdale, Ariz., March 12, 2019 — When they’re not participating in sports, theater, singing, dancing, playing an instrument or video games, or simply hanging out with family, friends, and pets, the state’s top 27 spellers – ranging in age from 8-14 and grades 3rd through 8th – are studying and practicing for the 2019 Arizona State Spelling Bee. The annual Arizona State Spelling Bee will be held this year on Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 1:00 pm in the Arizona PBS studios on