The United Family and Mrs Baird’s Bread announced the February winners of the fifth annual North Texas Teachers on the Rise program, honoring three educators from the McKinney and Frisco school districts.
The February honorees are Sydney Rorick of Eddins Elementary School (McKinney ISD), Amanda Nava of Cockrill Middle School (McKinney ISD) and Olivia McGaughey of Emerson High School (Frisco ISD).
Each winning teacher receives a $100 Market Street gift card, a $100 American Express gift card from Mrs Baird’s and a gift basket of Mrs Baird’s products. The students who nominated the winning teachers each receive a $50 American Express gift card.
Building on earlier honorees
The February announcement follows the program’s December and January recognition cycle, in which six North Texas educators were honored. December winners were Rachel Young of Old Settlers Elementary School (Lewisville ISD), Bridget Shelden of Scoggins Middle School (Frisco ISD) and Michael Wang of Coppell High School Ninth Grade Campus (Coppell ISD). January winners were Chelsea Lux of Minett Elementary School (Frisco ISD), Francisco Gonzales of Bowman Middle School (Plano ISD) and Daniel Grenier of Emerson High School (Frisco ISD).
The parallel South Plains program — United Supermarkets’ Teachers on the Rise, now in its 15th year — has also recognized six Lubbock-area educators since the school year began. December honorees from that program were Tamara Riley of Abernathy Elementary School (Abernathy ISD), Emelia Jones of Dunbar College Preparatory Academy (Lubbock ISD) and Randa Wuerflein of Levelland High School (Levelland ISD). January winners were Ashley Carthel of Plainview North Elementary School (Plainview ISD), Sara Bading of Shallowater Middle School (Shallowater ISD) and Jennifer Garcia-Frazier of Lubbock High School (Lubbock ISD).
[RELATED: The United Family, Mrs Baird’s Honor 12 TX Teachers]
Fifth year of growing momentum
The North Texas program has drawn more than 500 nominations from students and families this school year. Program Director Shane Sumrow encouraged continued nominations through the spring.
Abie Rampy, director of public relations for The United Family, said the program represents one of the company’s most meaningful community touchpoints.
“Our teachers go above and beyond every single day, and it feels great to shine a spotlight on their hard work. This program is one of our favorite ways to celebrate the heart of our communities, and we can’t wait to see the amazing educators who will be honored in the months ahead,” Rampy said.
Nominations can be submitted at TeachersOnTheRise.com.
The United Family operates 100 retail grocery stores across Texas and New Mexico and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Albertsons Companies Inc.