(l-r) Lawson Early Childhood School Principal Susie Towber, Region 10 Elementary Teacher of the Year Genesis Yougas and McKinney ISD Superintendent Shawn Pratt. The Region 10 Education Service Center held its annual Teacher of the Year luncheon on Thursday July 27, 2023, at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas where they named Genesis Yougas from Lawson Early Childhood School the Region 10 Elementary Teacher of the Year.

McKinney, Texas – Last spring, Head Start teacher Genesis Yougas from Lawson Early Childhood School was named the McKinney ISD Elementary Teacher of the Year. It was a defining moment in her 10 year career as an educator.

Now, Yougas has an even greater milestone to add to it; on July 27, she was named the 2023 Region 10 Elementary Teacher of the Year. The announcement was made at the annual Region 10 Teacher of the Year luncheon held at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, where the most outstanding educators from across the region were recognized. From among their ranks were chosen the Region 10 Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year.

Region 10 is comprised of some 58,000 teachers.

The Region 10 Education Service Center celebrated Teachers of the Year from districts across the region on July 27 at their Teacher of the Year luncheon.

Yougas is a product of McKinney ISD, a McKinney North High School alumna, who credits her teachers with providing the catalyst for success. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for teachers like you who believed in me, who cared for me and who told me that I was valuable, and that I could do it,” she said last spring at the McKinney ISD Teacher of the Year Dinner.

For the past three years, Yougas has served as a Pre-K/Head Start teacher at Lawson, working with some of the district’s youngest students, seeking to impact them as profoundly as MISD teachers impacted her.

In her first year of teaching, Yougas piloted a collaborative classroom in which students with disabilities learned alongside peers without disabilities. In her journey to inclusivity, Yougas was awarded a McKinney Education Foundation (MEF) grant for inclusive play equipment to help children of all abilities learn life skills, such as empathy and compassion through the medium of play. She wants students to have an accessible learning environment where learning is individualized and adapted to meet the needs of all students.

With this Region 10 recognition, Yougas joins a long-standing McKinney ISD tradition of Region 10 Teachers of the Year. Since 2005, MISD has produced seven Region 10 Teachers of the Year, one Region 10 Teacher of the Year Finalist—and one Texas Teacher of the Year.

Now, Yougas will move on to be considered for the honor of Texas Teacher of the Year.

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