The Wasatch County School District selects teachers for the annual award based on nominations from students, parents and district staff.
Early April 15 at the J.R. Smith Elementary School in Heber City, Brandi Leavitt’s fifth grade class is interrupted from a chemistry lesson by a crowd of other teachers, district administrators and community members.
They have a message to share: teaching is important.
“Sometimes in society, people say ‘what do you do for a living?’” Wasatch County School District Director of Operations Shawn Kelly said to those in the classroom. “And someone says ‘Oh, I’m a teacher,’ and they say, ‘How do you stand that? You have to deal with kids all day. Teachers aren’t cool. I want to be an attorney or something.’ But we’re here to say, 'In Wasatch County, it’s cool to be a teacher!'”
Kelly came to recognize Leavitt’s work with a $10,000 check for personal use.
The awards are funded by the Wasatch Education Foundation, a non-profit which supports the roughly 9,000-student district. The money comes largely from donors in the community who care about students and schools.
Terri Wright had a career as a teacher before joining the foundation board. With the award, she said they want to highlight the work of educators.
“In order for our students to excel we need to have strong teachers and we need to recognize what they are doing,” she said. “And it's fun to surprise teachers – they don’t know it’s coming, and sometimes we find teachers, like today, who probably didn't know anyone recognized what they’re doing,” Wright said.
The award surprised Leavitt, who grew up in Heber and was educated at district schools.
Speaking after the ceremony, she said it was an exciting morning.
“I received a huge check!” Leavitt said, laughing. “And, I guess it’s just for really caring about my job, and the students, and showing up everyday and being a part of this community.”
Her summer vacation, she joked, just started to look a lot better.
In addition to Leavitt, the district recognized the following teachers with a 2026 Distinguished Educator Award:
- Carla Bedingfield: Adaptive Physical Education teacher at Wasatch High School
- Sarah Bray: Teacher at Timpanogos Middle School
- April Hill: Teacher at Heber Valley Elementary School
- Erica Johnson: Preschool Special Education Teacher at Daniels Canyon Elementary School
- Erika Knight: Teacher at Midway Elementary School
- Shawn Marsing: Teacher and coach at Wasatch High School
- Amanda Sanchez-Ruiz: Teacher at Rocky Mountain Middle School
- Melanie Tibbitts: Teacher at Old Mill Elementary School