Raising the Bar: Heritage Elementary’s 2025-26 Teacher of the Year

For Sharla York, Heritage Elementary’s 2025-26 Teacher of the Year, teaching is all about pushing her students to the next level. She’s been in the classroom for more than 16 years, starting out in Colorado and spending the past eight years teaching sixth grade at Heritage.

“My favorite aspect of teaching is creating a strong, caring community in my classroom,” she shares. “I believe in raising the bar really, really high, and offering students help in reaching it rather than lowering expectations.”

York’s love of both learning and children made teaching the perfect combination of the two, motivating her to pursue a career in education. Her creativity drives her to keep improving in every possible way, meaning her instruction always looks a little different each year.

“My classroom is a little unusual, but there is never a dull moment!” she says.

The Heritage community is like a family to York, as she loves all the people she works with and feels that they have the best administrators in the world. “I am so thankful to be part of this school and community,” she adds.

Heritage Principal Lance Robins lauds York as a cornerstone of their sixth-grade team, highlighting her ability to communicate with parents to develop meaningful relationships, as well as her impressive skills as an educator.

“Sharla understands that a great teacher doesn't just deliver content — she ignites curiosity across every discipline,” says Robins. “Her classroom is a place where academic boundaries are energized by a shared love of discovery.”

York emphasizes the important role parents play in their children’s lives at an early age, and hopes that all parents recognize the positive impact they can have on their children’s academic success.

“The very first teachers a child has are his or her parents,” she says. “And children’s success is often a mirror of the early beginnings they have at home.”

Robins explains York’s belief that every student, regardless of their starting point, is capable of extraordinary progress. “She sees the potential in every child who walks through her doors,” he says, noting that she focuses on “fostering a nurturing environment where students feel safe to take risks and strive for excellence.”