A group of teachers from across the area were honored at an event in Salina on Saturday.
According to the Kansas State Department of Education, Tracie Betz, an early childhood special education preschool teacher at Quinter Elementary School, Quinter USD 293, and Tranda Strnad, art teacher at Republic County High School, Republic County USD 109, were named Region 1 finalists for the 2026 Kansas Teacher of the Year (KTOY) award program. This award recognizes excellent teaching in the elementary and secondary classrooms of the state.
Betz and Strnad were among six KTOY semifinalists from Region 1, which covers Kansas’s 1st U.S. congressional district. The other finalists were:
- Whitney George, fourth grade teacher at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School, Manhattan-Ogden USD 383
- Katherine Jimenez, a music teacher at Hugoton Elementary School, Hugoton USD 210
- Mandy Burger, family and consumer science teacher at Ellsworth High School, Ellsworth USD 327
- Mark Shera Cruz, a physics, human antimony and physiology teacher at Garden City High School, Garden City USD 457
Each of the semifinalists will receive a red marble apple with a wooden base, compliments of The Master Teacher in Manhattan.
As finalists for the Kansas Teacher of the Year distinction, Betz and Strnad each will receive a $2,000 cash award from Security Benefit, the major corporate partner for the KTOY program. In addition, they are each now eligible to be named Kansas Teacher of the Year, which will be announced during a ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 20, in Wichita.
This year, 136 educators across the state were nominated for the Kansas Teacher of the Year distinction. Nominations are made in each of four regions in the state.
Members of the Kansas Teacher of the Year team, comprised of the Teacher of the Year and regional finalists, serve as ambassadors for education in Kansas, making public appearances across the state to promote education and the teaching profession.
The individual selected as the Kansas Teacher of the Year is eligible for selection as the National Teacher of the Year.
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Photos via Kansas State Department of Education. Tracie Betz (left) and Tranda Strnad (right)
