Indio Teacher Named Among Top 5 Teachers of California

IMAGE: Michelle Cherland is announced as one of four Riverside County Teachers of the Year for 2016 by Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, Kenneth Young. Cherland is a kindergarten teacher at Carrillo Ranch Elementary School in Indio and has served in the U.S. Army Reserves in three separate deployments to the Middle East since 2000. COURTESY: Office of the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools

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By City News Service:

A second-grade teacher at Carrillo Ranch Elementary School in Indio was named this week one of five California Teachers of the Year.

According to the state Department of Education, Michelle Cherland will be feted at a gala event in Sacramento in February, along with the four other California Teachers of the Year:

• Daniel Jocz, a social studies teacher at Downtown Magnets High School in Los Angeles
• Mitch Bahr, a instrumental music teacher at Foothill High School in Palo Cedro, in Shasta County
• Doug Green, a broadcast journalism teacher at two schools in Carlsbad, in San Diego County
• Ann Park, a fifth-grade teacher at Greenleaf Elementary School in Oakland, in Alameda County

Jocz was nominated by state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson as California’s nominee for National Teacher of the Year.

“The teachers we are honoring today are dedicated, energetic, innovative and very effective,” Torlakson said. “Every day in the classroom they inspire students to learn, excel and realize their full potential. Their work provides a great example for other teachers.”

Teachers are chosen for the honor based on criteria including rapport with students, classroom environment, presentation skills and teaching methods.

According to the state, Cherland has been teaching for 14 years, including the last 10 at Carrillo Ranch. She is also a Army veteran, serving three tours of duty overseas after enlisting during Operation Desert Storm. Cherland is also a mother of seven.

“She is respected among her peers, beloved by parents and students,” Desert Sands Unified School District Superintendent Gary Rutherford wrote in Cherland’s Teacher of the Year application. “She inspires and leads others to higher levels of performance and a deeper commitment to a student-centered philosophy.”