June 21, 2013 (Sacramento) – Stephanie Cook and Reza Mahvi have been named Sacramento City Unified School District 2013 Teachers of the Year.

Cook teaches geography, economics and yoga at George Washington Carver School of Arts & Science. She manages a full-inclusion classroom of Special Education and general education students and inspires all students to develop empathy and social awareness through a variety of projects. She volunteers with students at the Sacramento County Juvenile Hall, organizes the school’s annual World Cultures Fair and guides teens through the award-winning Poverty Project, key to Carver’s civic learning.

Mahvi is a Special Education math teacher at Fern Bacon Middle School. Mahvi is tireless in his dedication to helping students learn and master college and career-ready skills. He provides tutoring at lunch and after school and conducts home visits three times a week on average. He manages 28 Individualized Education Plans, teaches Saturday school and collaborates with peers to write curriculum. As a result, 70 percent of his students tested proficient or advanced on the California Standards Tests last year, a phenomenal accomplishment at a high-poverty school.

The pair will now represent the district in the Sacramento County Office of Education Teachers of the Year program.