Texas Teacher of the Year Revathi Balakrishnan traveled to Washington, D.C. to represent Texas at the annual National Teacher of the Year program, held in the White House Rose Garden.

Balakrishnan was honored with meeting the President of the United States Barack Obama, Vice President of the United States Joe Biden and national education leaders like Education Secretary John King.

Balakrishnan, 2016 Round Rock ISD Elementary Teacher of the Year, was named Texas Teacher of the Year in October. Balakrishnan has been an educator for 10 years, seven of which have been at Sommer as a founding staff member and Talented and Gifted specialist.

“Mrs. Balakrishnan’s passion for education and drive for success is an asset and inspiration to teachers within Round Rock ISD and the state of Texas,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Steve Flores said. “We are proud to have Mrs. Balakrishnan represent our community in Washington, D.C. and I look forward to working with her to bring innovative programs to our students and staff.”

Balakrishnan shared the following letter with Round Rock ISD teachers, showcasing her experience in Washington, D.C.:

Dear Teachers,

I wanted to tell you all personally about my trip to Washington DC as Texas Teacher of the Year. This was the next best thing, short of taking you all with me.

The excitement of the trip was in meeting Vice President Biden and President Obama and having the opportunity to say a few words and shaking hands with them.

The highlight of my trip, though, was in meeting our Education Secretary, John King, and members from the Dept of Education, ASCD, Microsoft and Smithsonian.  Equity in education, relevance in education, diversity in the teacher population, STEM, STEAM and Computer Science at any level were frequently discussed topics that will move us forward, but the biggest agreement was in the urgent need for elevating teacher voice at the district, state and national level.

In case you didn’t already know, Round Rock ISD is at the cutting edge of everything. Other teachers were constantly amazed at the high level of our professional development, technology integration, curriculum resources and gifted education. What we consider standard here is non-existent in other districts. But that doesn’t mean that we should stop here. We are perfectly situated to push forward the frontiers of education, which we are already attempting in the form of flexible learning spaces, meaningful learning, individualized PD, ECHS, and teacher leadership.

I am excited to share these insights with you and wish you were all there with me to experience the positive energy.

Have a great rest of the year and never stop dreaming big for the sake of our students.

Revathi Balakrishnan, Talented & Gifted Specialist, Patsy Sommer Elementary
2016 Texas Teacher of the Year