West Potomac High Teacher Competes on 'Jeopardy'

A West Potomac High School teacher will be competing in the “JEOPARDY! Teachers Tournament,” which begins airing Monday on WJLA-TV.

Colin O’Grady is an English teacher at West Potomac High School in Alexandria.

The winner of the tournament, a two-week event featuring 15 K-12 educators, will take home $100,000 and an automatic berth in the next JEOPARDY! Tournament of Champions; the second-place finisher wins $50,000 and third place claims $25,000.

“This year’s Teachers Tournament is one of the best JEOPARDY! tournaments we’ve ever had,” said JEOPARDY! host Alex Trebek, in a news release. “The intelligence and charisma of the contestants, combined with exemplary clues and categories from our writers, resulted in a memorable competition that will be sure to excite the teachers’ students watching at home.”

The complete Teachers Tournament contestant field is as follows:

● Tracy Alexander, an AP English teacher at Walden Grove High School in Sahuarita, Ariz.

● Mary Bayer, a drama teacher at Elgin Academy in Elgin, Ill.

● Lydia Cuffman, a World, U.S., and Latin American History teacher at Sequoia High School in Redwood City, Calif.

● Adam Elkana-Hale, a math teacher at Loyola Academy of St. Louis in St. Louis, Mo.

● Cathy Farrell, a Physics and General Science teacher at Huron High School in New Boston, Mich.

● Jennifer Giles, a bilingual education teacher at Columbine Elementary School in Longmont, Colo.

● Chris Grinvalds, a World History and computer teacher at Bennington High School in Yutan, Neb.

● Eric Hack, a Latin teacher at Broadwater Academy in Exmore, Va.

● Martha Jackson, a Math and Speech teacher at Fremont-Mills Community School in Tabor, Iowa

● Michael Jones, a Special Education teacher at Black Hawk Middle School in Madison, Wis.

● Kate La Riviere-Gagner, a 5th and 6th grade classroom teacher at Monkton Central School in North Ferrisburgh, Vt.

● MaryLou McKenna, an algebra teacher at Barnstable High School in Hyannis, Mass.

● Erin McLaughlin, a 5th grade classroom teacher at Bay Ridge Prep in Brooklyn, N.Y.

● Colin O’Grady an English teacher at West Potomac High School in Alexandria, Va.

● Jay Singleton, a Social Studies and Government teacher at Wilson Memorial High School in Fishersville, Va.

For air times and stations nationwide, check local listings or visit the interactive map at http://www.jeopardy.com/showguide/whentowatch/.

JEOPARDY!, America’s Favorite Quiz Show® and its host, Alex Trebek, began their 31st season Sept. 15, 2014. The top-ranked game show among homes, with 25 million viewers each week, JEOPARDY! holds the Guinness World Records® title for the most Emmy® Awards won by a TV game show (31 Emmys), including the 2014 Emmy® for Outstanding Game Show. In 2014, JEOPARDY! won the inaugural Writers Guild of America award for Outstanding Writing for Quiz and Audience Participation; it is also the recipient of a 2011 Peabody Award. JEOPARDY! is produced by Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company; it is distributed domestically by CBS Television Distribution and internationally by CBS Television International, both units of CBS Corp. For more information, please visit Jeopardy.com.