Two named Contra Costa Teachers of the Year, with a Walnut Creek teacher honored

Contra Costa County has two Teachers of the Year for 2026-27: Rebecca St. Michel, a fifth-grade teacher at Brentwood Elementary School in the Brentwood Union School District, and Stephanie Sado, a literacy intervention teacher in the Orinda Union School District. The county office of education announced the choice after its 54th annual Teachers of the Year Celebration on Thursday, Sept. 17, at the Hilton Concord.

The evening honored 22 teachers in all, from 17 school districts, the community college district and the county office of education. Walnut Creek School District's honoree was Brittany Forrette of Parkmead Elementary School, the campus academic coach, who works with every teacher and student on the site, according to the school's principal newsletter.

Other nearby honorees were Julee Henderson of Acalanes High School, Katie Collins of Martinez Junior High, Christina Mignano of Los Perales Elementary in Moraga, and April Saldivar of Shore Acres Elementary and Mary Acebu of Riverview Middle School, both in Mt. Diablo Unified.

St. Michel and Sado were picked from four finalists. The other two were Henderson and Evette Evers-Threatt of Martin Luther King Jr. Junior High School in the Pittsburg Unified School District.

"These two educators represent the dedication and commitment demonstrated by public school teachers across Contra Costa County," County Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey said in the announcement.

St. Michel is a fourth-generation educator with more than 27 years in the classroom, all of them at Brentwood Elementary. The county office said her own experience as a student with a learning disability shaped how she teaches and how she helps families work through IEPs and school paperwork.

Sado has spent 12 years on literacy. She helped build a K-5 reading intervention program across Orinda's elementary schools and has led training for other teachers, and the county office said her work is driven by her own childhood struggles with reading.

What happens next: both represent the county in the California State Teacher of the Year competition, with statewide winners expected in mid-October. Districts nominate their own teachers each winter, applications close in the spring, and two county honorees come out of the September celebration. The program is coordinated by the county office of education and paid for largely by donations from local businesses, organizations and residents.