Tucson School Teacher Among 13 Nationwide Competing In Jeopardy

TUCSON — It won't be airing until May, but Tucson educator Tara Baxter, who teaches at Sunnyside's STAR Academic High, is buzzing in her answers as an official Jeopardy contestant.

While she's taping the show this week, the episodes pitting educators across the nation will air starting May 6 on Channel 9, the ABC affiliate in Tucson. It's part of the show's annual Teachers Tournament featuring on 14 contestants with a chance to win $100,000.

Baxter teaches English at the school. She tells the Arizona Daily Star she's been a fan for Jeopardy for years. She qualified taking the online quiz, an annual ritual she's completed since it was offered. This year, she got an email back.

It was almost lost in the spam folder.

“And the email was gonna expire in about four hours,” Baxter told the Star. “So I almost missed the whole thing.”

“It was kind of nerve-wracking, but exciting, too,” Baxter told the Star. “I felt a bit like a VIP.”

Every teacher competing will receive an Amazon Echo smart speaker, according to a Jeopardy press release.

“Teachers are the only profession for whom we’ve created a special tournament, which I hope shows how much everyone at (the show) values their work,” Trebek said in the release.