EPISD, YISD teachers selected as Region 19 Teacher of the Year

Parkland High School chemistry teacher Marlene Gallegos was named the 2015 Region 19 Secondary Teacher of the Year. She was previously named among the Ysleta school district's top ten teachers. (Rudy Gutierrez - El Paso Times )

Photos: Back to school 2014

Donald Belknap of the El Paso Independent School District, and Marlene Gallegos of the Ysleta Independent School District were selected the 2015 elementary and secondary teachers of the year, respectively, by Education Service Center Region 19.

They are among the hundreds of teachers who returned to school today.

Belknap is a science and math teacher at Marguerite Lundy Elementary School. Gallegos is a chemistry teacher at Parkland High School. Both will compete for the 2015 Texas Teacher of the Year, which is selected in October by the Texas Association of School Administrators.

Belknap and Gallegos competed against 20 candidates for the title in region 19. Both said they were humbled by the selection.

Belknap, who previously owned Belknap Auto Care, decided to become an elementary school teacher three years ago.

"There was a learning curve for me," Belknap said. "It was a lot easier for me to go in and talk to a large group of business people than in front of my first group of students because it's a live audience. They are bright and they are eager and they want to learn."

Belknap said he decided to teach elementary school to help create a foundation for elementary school students. After fine-tuning his communication skills with the students, Belknap said he set out to help the students learn and achieve their goals.

"I'm very much an active-engagement type teacher," he said. "If you came into my room there would be students talking to each other, there would be students on the floor making posters. And there would be students on any surface on the classroom using that space and there would be a great deal of interaction between students."

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EPISD, YISD teachers selected as Region 19 Teacher of the Year