From Fontana to Yucaipa, these four teachers don’t just stand at the front of their classrooms.
They stand out among all the teachers in the county’s 33 school districts.
RELATED: Meet Riverside County’s 4 Teachers of the Year for 2026
They are San Bernardino County’s 2026 Teachers of the Year.
Saluted at a Thursday, Sept. 25, event in San Bernardino organized by the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, they are also competing for the title as California’s Teacher of the Year. The state winner is expected to be announced next month.
Riverside County’s quartet of top teachers for 2026 — named in May before last school year ended — also are in that contest.
In San Bernardino County, this year’s winners are from the Fontana, Rialto, Redlands and Yucaipa school districts.
San Bernardino County Superintendent Ted Alejandre praised the honorees, calling them in a news release “a powerful representation of what it means to serve students.”
Here’s a closer look at each of the winners.
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Kristen Mariani teaches her transitional kindergarten students at Mentone Elementary School on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. Mariani is one of the San Bernardino County Teachers of the Year for 2026 and will compete for the state title. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
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Kristen Mariani teaches her transitional kindergarten students at Mentone Elementary School on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. Mariani is one of the San Bernardino County Teachers of the Year for 2026 and will compete for the state title. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
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Kristen Mariani
Mariani admits she was “disengaged and unmotivated” as a student.
That put her on a track to make sure her students never felt the same way.
“As a teacher, I set out to create an environment in class where students could have fun – laugh, be silly and feel like learning wasn’t a chore but rather an exciting adventure,” the Mentone Elementary School teacher wrote in an email.
Mariani’s award attests to her success.
The 53-year-old Yucaipa resident has worked the bulk of her career — 29 years — in the Redlands Unified School District.
In Mariani’s transitional kindergarten class, her teaching philosophy stems from her simple belief that “everyone can learn something.”
“We may not all learn it at the same time or in the same way, but we can always improve, do better and try our best,” Mariani wrote. “In my class, we say ‘What happens if you try and make a mistake? Nothing! But you have to try!’”
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Cathleen “Cathy” Schmidt is seen Feb. 12, 2025. The teacher at Oak View High School and Education Center in Yucaipa has been named one of four San Bernardino County 2026 teachers of the year. (Courtesy of Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District)
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Cathleen “Cathy” Schmidt is seen Feb. 12, 2025. The teacher at Oak View High School and Education Center in Yucaipa has been named one of four San Bernardino County 2026 teachers of the year. (Courtesy of Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District)
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Cathleen “Cathy” Schmidt
Being a teenager was tough for Cathleen “Cathy” Schmidt.
Those years led her “to a dark place,” Schmidt wrote in an email. But she chose “to walk away from that dark place and change my life.”
Reflecting on her skills, Schmidt knew she was good at reading and pursued teaching in hopes of instilling that same love in students.
Today, the 48-year-old Yucaipa resident works full time at Oak View High School and Education Center while instructing two nights a week at the Yucaipa Adult School. Both are in the Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District.
The 25-year veteran strives to build “authentic bonds” with her students.
“Whether it’s listening to a student’s story, coaching them through a personal challenge, or cheering on their small wins,” Schmidt wrote. “My everyday conversations with students, learning about who they really are often brings a special light in their eyes.”
She relishes in the payoff.
“I LOVE seeing them shine their light a little more every day until they walk across that graduation stage!” Schmidt wrote.
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Michelle Vazquez, a special education teacher at Live Oak Elementary School in the Fontana Unified School District, is seen Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, in her classroom. Vazquez is one of the 2026 San Bernardino County Teachers of the Year and will compete for the state title. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
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Michelle Vazquez, a special education teacher at Live Oak Elementary School in the Fontana Unified School District, is seen Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, in her classroom. Vazquez is one of the 2026 San Bernardino County Teachers of the Year and will compete for the state title. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
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Michelle Vazquez
Kids feel safe and comfortable around Michelle Vazquez.
And they always have.
“I wanted to be that safe, encouraging adult who believes in them, protects them, and reminds them they can do amazing things, especially when they can’t yet see it in themselves,” the teacher at Fontana’s Live Oak Elementary School wrote in an email.
Vazquez, a 42-year-old Riverside resident, has taught for 16 years and is guided by the desire to connect with and support her students.
“I believe every student deserves to feel valued, supported and capable of success,” the special education teacher wrote. “My philosophy is to celebrate differences, build confidence and create a safe space where students recognize their strengths.”
The results keep the 16-year veteran going.
“Moments like a parent sharing their child made the honor roll or finally found true friends remind me why I teach: to help students succeed and feel a deep sense of belonging.”
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Kimberly Williams, seen in Feb. 2025, is one of four San Bernardino County teachers of the year for 2026. (Courtesy of Rialto Unified School District)
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Kimberly Williams, seen in Feb. 2025, is one of four San Bernardino County teachers of the year for 2026. (Courtesy of Rialto Unified School District)
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Kimberly Williams
For Kimberly Williams, teaching was a calling.
Volunteering with a special education student during high school set her on the path to the front of the classroom after the experience showed her that she “wanted to make a difference in more children’s lives.”
“I wanted to inspire and love children by giving them a sense of belonging through a meaningful school experience where they felt seen, valued and cared about for exactly who they are,” Williams wrote in an email.
Williams’s 40-year career ended last school year, when she retired after teaching fifth grade at Rialto’s Myers Elementary School.
All those years, the 63-year-old Highland resident saw teaching as more than just a job.
“It’s a sacred trust, a daily opportunity to shape the future, one child at a time,” she wrote. “It is about making a genuine human connection.”
She cited the example of a student who angrily destroyed a Christmas ornament because his family couldn’t afford a Christmas tree. So she took a tree to the house.
“Years later, he shared with me that the tree became an instrument of hope,” Williams said. “Now, as a Redlands police officer, he delivers Christmas trees to families in need every year.”
Williams said she was humbled by the award but said the “true reward is witnessed daily — in the eyes of a child who just solved a difficult math problem, in the confident smile of a student who’s overcome a learning challenge, in the heartfelt notes from parents expressing gratitude and former students keeping in touch with me.”
