For the Reporter

The Puget Sound Educational Service District recently awarded Evergreen Heights Elementary School’s Alisa Louie as Regional Teacher of the Year for 2017.

Louie works as an interventionist with English language learners (ELL) students in math and reading. She is also a teacher coach and coordinates an ELL grant at her school.

Outside of the classroom, Louie is a Washington State Teacher Leader and blogs about teaching and learning in support of and aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and state teaching standards.

Louie was an original member of the teacher leader cadre founded in 2014 and has been a leader among the bloggers and tweeters who amplify teachers’ voices throughout the state, contributing 40 posts to date on topics from her best classroom instructional practices.

Louie grew up in Washington state and lives with her husband and their two dogs. She graduated from Western Washington University and earned her National Board certification in 2011. Louie began teaching 11 years ago at Spanaway Elementary.

As Regional Teacher of the Year, Alisa will attend a weekend-long leadership retreat, tell her inspiring educator story, travel throughout the state to share her expertise and experience with a variety of communities and advocate for educational issues most important to her.

“Alisa is both an amazing teacher and a compassionate person,” said Anne Gayman, principal of Evergreen Heights Elementary. “She cares about student achievement, families and the community. She is truly one of a kind.”

Louie has qualified as a candidate for the Washington State Teacher of the Year, which will be announced by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) in the fall.