Beverly Hills teacher Michelle Stradford was honored as a 2022-23 recipient of a Los Angeles County Board of Education “Teacher of the Year” award at a ceremony on Sept. 23. The awards are intended to honor educators for exemplary dedication and positive accomplishments. The Los Angeles County Office of Education is the nation’s largest regional education agency, serving 2 million children.

Stradford, a fifth-grade teacher at Horace Mann Elementary with over a decade of experience, was the only educator selected to represent BHUSD. She is one of 66 teachers nominated throughout the county, 16 of whom were selected. Contestants submitted essays, lesson plans, and other materials to a panel of judges. Stradford and the other winners each received a $1,000 cash prize from event sponsor California Credit Union.

The regional honorees now move on to a statewide competition in which a California Teacher of the Year is selected. 

“Michelle Stradford embodies the old adage of being firm, fair, and consistent,” said Horace Mann Principal Craig Bugbee. “She embraces and expresses her passion for teaching.”