Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Arkansas Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva with the 15 finalists for 2026 Arkansas Teacher of the Year at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock, Arkansas on Monday, July 28th.
Finalists include: Jesse Walls (Jim D. Rollins School of Innovation), Alana Ashworth (Prairie Grove Middle School), Heidi Fought-Strong (Main Street Visual & Performing Arts Magnet School), Danny Hobson (Alma High School), Misty Smith (Goza Middle School), Stephanie Williams (Mountain View Elementary School), Tarji Russell-Chaffin (Dumas High School), Kevin Sherman (Stuttgart High School), Susan Ford (Cabot Jr. High North/Cabor Jr. High South), Gretchen Freyaldenhoven (Greenbrier Wooster Elementary School), Elaina Weaver (Bethel Middle School), Brad Beatty (Russellville Intermediate School), Kaitlin Smith (Conway High School), Victoria Golden (Dr. Marian G. Lacey K-8 Academy), and Chenel Dale (Asbell Elementary School).
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Arkansas Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva with the five semi-finalists for 2026 Arkansas Teacher of the Year at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock, Arkansas on Monday, July 28th.
Semi-finalists include: Alana Ashworth (Prairie Grove Middle School), Stephanie Williams (Mountain View Elementary School), Gretchen Freyaldenhoven (Greenbrier Wooster Elementary School), Elaina Weaver (Bethel Middle School), and Chenel Dale (Asbell Elementary School).
