Kingwood Park High School biology and pathophysiology teacher Cassandra DeBottis and Whispering Pines Elementary fifth grade math teacher Aimee Harris have been selected as finalists for the Region 4 Secondary and Elementary Teacher of the Year Award.
Region 4 serves an eight-county area comprising 47 public school districts and 43 open-enrollment charter schools, representing more than 1.2 million students and 111,000 educators across the Greater Houston area.
Ms. DeBottis is one of six finalists for the Region 4 Secondary Teacher of the Year, while Ms. Harris is one of seven finalists for the Region 4 Elementary Teacher of the Year Award.
The winner will be announced at the Region 4 Teachers of the Year Luncheon and Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, August 5, at the Marriott Marquis Houston.
Humble ISD teachers have been selected as being among the best of the best. In 2024, Autumn Creek Elementary fourth grade teacher Jasmine Thomas was named a Region 4 Elementary Teacher of the Year Finalist. In 2023, Groves Elementary librarian Susan Mitchell was named the Region 4 Elementary Teacher of the Year. In 2020, Darcy Petzold of Eagle Springs Elementary was named a Region 4 Finalist. In 2019, Joe Paneitz of the Career and Technology Education Center (CATE) was named the Region 4 Secondary Teacher of the Year.
If Ms. DeBottis or Ms. Harris are chosen as the winner; they will advance to represent Humble ISD and Region 4 as a Texas Teacher of the Year Finalist. Each year, 40 Regional Teachers of the Year are considered for the Texas Teacher of the Year Award.
On April 4, Ms. DeBottis was named the 2025-2026 Humble ISD District and Secondary Teacher of the Year, while Ms. Harris was named the 2025-2026 Humble ISD Elementary Teacher of the Year.