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The Riverside County Teachers of the Year are selected from nearly 20,000 educators in the county. The rigorous application process requires candidates to spend time reflecting on, and carefully defining, their teaching philosophy, according to the RCOE.

The county teachers of the year are selected on the basis of nominations by teachers, principals, and school district administrators.

Applications are then submitted to the RCOE, where a selection committee reviews the applications and selects semi-finalists. The selection committee then conducts interviews and site visits to select the final four candidates before the county superintendent announces the Riverside County Teachers of the Year.

“Both Ms. Hill and Mr. Waedekin are published authors and accomplished educators whose vast expertise and experience take center stage in their classrooms every day to foster a love of literacy, the arts, and all subjects, so that students can see the endless possibilities for their own lives as they write their own success stories,” Gomez said.

Read more about the two Pass Area teachers (from the RCOE):

James Waedekin’s desire is to help students become the voices of their generation. He believes that “working in alternative education is transforming for teachers, and our classrooms are transforming for students.” In the classroom, he is engaging students with improv exercises and creative writing assignments. Outside the classroom, he serves as the school’s Yearbook advisor, serves on multiple school site teams, and is the school’s Positive Behavior Intervention System (PBIS) Coordinator. When he was younger, Mr. Waedekin toured in drama therapy plays performed at teen shelters, alternative high schools, drug rehabilitation centers, and has grown his career as an award-winning author and playwright. In his application, Mr. Waedekin shared that he believes he is here to “create stories, to share stories, and to inspire others to create and to share their stories.” A project in his classroom, “Book About Me” starts with a blank 24-page book that serves as a self-reflection tool and memoir to chronicle their lives as students, and their goals as graduating young adults. His work has appeared at UCLA, West Coast Theatre Ensemble, the Chicago Playwrights Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, the York Theatre, and more. His play, The Invisible J. Michael Hess, looks at the problems of teenage bullying and suicide, and has had over 30 productions staged nationwide. He recently published his first children’s book, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Finkle. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma, he earned his fine arts master’s degree in playwriting from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his teaching credential from Loyola Marymount University.

Inside the four walls of Lindsay Hill’s 4th-grade classroom, students experience the colors, customs, cultures, history, and geography of California. Floor-to-ceiling painted classroom murals display the major regions of the Golden State — alongside family photos from trips that students and families take throughout the year that serve as realia (objects and materials from everyday life used as teaching aids). By incorporating the class mascot, Bigfoot, constructing Native American totem poles, and dressing up and talking like a ship captain, Ms. Hill strives to create an immersive and authentic learning experience that not only brings the standards to life, but establishes creativity as a foundation to drive learning. In her application, she states that “teaching and working with children is my passion and creating a family classroom culture where students are unconditionally cared for is the foundation.” Ms. Hill’s passion for student achievement stems in part from overcoming the challenges of dyslexia when she was a student. Her desire to promote literacy includes serving as a reading intervention specialist, supporting the Read-a-Thon, launching the school’s Reading Lab, and writing her own children’s book series, Catching Twilight. After graduating from California State University, Fullerton, Ms. Hill earned her teaching credential from California State University, San Bernardino. She completed a master’s degree in the art of teaching from San Diego Christian College in 2023.

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