TEMPLE, Texas — Temple Independent School District kindergarten teacher JoMeka Gray has been named one of six finalists for the 2025 Texas Teacher of the Year Program presented by the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA). Gray was notified of her achievement in front of the staff at Kennedy-Powell Elementary on Wednesday morning (September 4).
Gray teaches math, science, and social studies to kindergarten students at Kennedy-Powell and has been teaching in Temple ISD for eight years. She has also taught at Meridith-Dunbar Elementary, Thornton Elementary, and Western Hills Elementary and has taught both kindergarten and first grade. Gray has also worked in Killeen ISD during her 12-year teaching career, and she has also served as a mentor teacher and has advocated for her profession at the Texas Capitol.
“It is amazing to see the academic growth of a student from the first time they sat in your classroom until graduation,” Gray said. “We as teachers also get to celebrate students beyond academics such as losing their first tooth, reading their first sentence, playing their first instrument, catching their first ball, and sometimes teaching their first child. This is the gift that allows the teacher to go beyond the classroom walls and make a stamp on society.”
Gray holds a BA in general studies from Louisiana Tech University. She is certified to teach both early childhood and English as a Second Language (ESL). Gray also holds National Board Certification as an Early Childhood Specialist. She has been named Temple ISD District Teacher of the Year twice, in 2021 and 2024. Gray advanced to the statewide Teacher of the Year competition after winning Elementary Teacher of the Year honors from ESC Region 12 earlier this year.
“Temple ISD educators have continued to set the standard for statewide accolades and notoriety in the last five years to include our school board, a middle school principal, superintendent, finance department, and our teachers,” said Dr. Bobby Ott, superintendent of Temple schools. “We believe when you compete and stack up at the state level everything else takes care of itself locally. Mrs. Gray is the dictionary definition of a master teacher and represents the perfect combination of providing a traditional education, mixed with innovative practices and true compassion. She also extends these qualities outside the classroom with parents, mentee teachers, and in advocacy efforts that support Texas teachers.”
Gray is one of three elementary teachers chosen as 2025 Texas Teacher of the Year finalists, joining Kevin Criss of Cambridge Elementary School in Alamo Heights ISD, and Kristi Leff of Humphrey’s Highland Elementary School in Amarillo ISD. The secondary teachers selected as finalists are Christine Mihealsick of Westwood High School in Round Rock ISD. Darla Morrow of James R. Brooks Middle School in Greenwood ISD, and Melissa Farias Zuniga of New Braunfels High School in New Braunfels ISD.
In August, a panel of judges composed of representatives of Texas teacher associations and last year’s Texas Teacher of the Year selected the finalists from the 40 Regional Teachers of the Year – one elementary and one secondary teacher from each of the 20 Texas Education Service Center regions.
“Texas teachers perform miracles every day as they inspire children even in the most challenging of times,” said Kevin Brown, executive director of TASA, which has coordinated the Texas Teacher of the Year program since 2011. “Public school teachers are critical to the success of individual children and our society as a whole. Those who choose to teach are national heroes, and these six finalists are the best among them. They have distinguished themselves among thousands of outstanding, dedicated teachers across our nation who have answered the call to serve."
The six finalists will be interviewed Oct. 24 by a panel of judges composed of representatives of educational leadership associations, community and business leaders, a member of the State Board for Educator Certification, a member of the State Board of Education, and prior Texas Teachers of the Year.
The panel will select two state-level winners — Elementary Teacher of the Year and Secondary Teacher of the Year — and designate one to represent Texas in the National Teacher of the Year program. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony Oct. 25 Kalahari Resort & Convention Center in Round Rock, Texas, where the 40 Regional Teachers of the Year will also be recognized.
The Texas Teacher of the Year program has honored excellence in classroom education since 1969. The program, facilitated by TASA since 2011, annually recognizes and rewards teachers who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and excellence in teaching. In 2015, Texas Teacher of the Year Shanna Peeples of Amarillo ISD became the second Texas teacher to be named the National Teacher of the Year. Learn more at tasanet.org/texasTOY.
TASA is the professional association for Texas school superintendents and other administrators. The mission of the organization, which focuses on professional learning, advocacy, and member engagement, is to promote, provide and develop leaders who create and sustain student-centered schools and develop future-ready students.