3 teachers represent Utah in national America's Favorite Teacher competition

SALT LAKE CITY — Three beloved Utah teachers received extra special community support this Teachers Appreciation Week as they made it to the quarterfinals of a national teacher competition.

For Greenwood Elementary third-grade teacher Becky Earle, "It was never a question to become a teacher, it was always just in my blood."

Her mother, father, grandmother and others had all been teachers before her, and she used to "play school" when she was a kid, so she just knew that's where she was meant to be. Now, she is finishing up her 19th year of teaching.

"I just love working with kids and seeing them progress, and especially when things start to click and they make that progress and put it all together, it's just fun to watch that happen," she said.

Earle found out about the America's Favorite Teacher competition through Facebook and decided to enter. After several rounds and eliminations, she placed fourth in the quarterfinals.

Only the top 1% of teachers qualified for the quarterfinals, for which voting ended Thursday. Earle credits a lot of the support to her family members who have been dutifully sharing the voting link every day.

"I was kind of shocked to make it that far. I'm very much an introvert if I'm not in front of children, and I tend to hang in the background most of the time," she said. "I didn't expect to get so much support, so it's very comforting and feels really good to know that that many people recognize what I and other teachers are doing."

Earle loves that there is a national competition to recognize the hard work and dedication of teachers. For her, the best part of the job is "just the kids, without fail."

"Every year, I get 25 to 30 new kids to enjoy. The end of the year is bittersweet because I lose them, but I get to enjoy their fun, quirky personalities and learn what they like and see their growth," she said.

Seyyed Sharifi, a special education teacher at Hartvigsen School in Taylorsville, placed fifth in the quarterfinals.

Even though he's no longer in the competition, Sharifi said he is "still incredibly grateful for all of the support from the community throughout the experience. It was an honor to represent Utah educators and special education on that platform."

Sharifi primarily works with post-high students who have significant disabilities. He brings real world learning into his classroom through community job-site experiences, trauma-informed practices and the use of virtual reality to help students access environments they otherwise can't.

"My focus is on helping them build independence, life skills and meaningful community connections as they transition beyond school," he said.

Advantage Arts Academy teacher Kaylei Lewis placed 15th in the quarterfinals.

She initially went to school as an art major studying illustration but decided to become a teacher after "remembering how I would not have made it to where I was without teachers." She also had negative experiences with some teachers in her life so she wanted to become the teacher who helped those students who struggled.

Lewis has been blown away by the support from her Herriman community for the competition and said it's been "magical" to celebrate Teachers Appreciation Week at the same time.

Her family has been sending daily texts to get people to vote for her, and she handed out QR codes for students to give their parents since voters had to be 18 years old.

"My students are handing me cards and flowers at the same time that their parents are voting for me," she said. "It was really sweet having parents email me saying they got their whole family involved. ... It's really sweet how excited people have gotten about the competition."

Lewis was honored to see "silent support" as well as parents who "are under the radar in communications with me" also donating extra votes to her.

Lewis joked that she will be bragging about reaching the quarterfinals for the rest of her life. She feels validated knowing her efforts as a teacher are paying off and is so grateful she gets to see the growth of her students each year.

"There are very few professions where you can see a direct result of the influence of your actions, and in teaching, I get to see these kids enter sixth grade and leave as seventh graders. I see the results of their tests, their social triumphs, their everything, knowing that I was a part of that and part of the development of a human being ... it's just a very gratifying position," she said.

Lewis is proud to represent Utah on the national stage and emphasized that Utah is a "fantastic place" for educators.

"I just want people to know that community support for teachers does came back around, and Utah is a great example of that," she said. "When we get support, we can better support the students under our care."

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