Desert Sands USD Educator Honored As 2021 CA Teacher Of The Year

COACHELLA VALLEY, CA — A Desert Sands Unified School District teacher was among five 2021 California Teachers of the Year honorees announced Wednesday by the state Department of Education.

The honoree, Allison Cyr, is a third-grade multi-subject teacher at Johnson Elementary School in the Desert Sands Unified School District. Local school officials surprised her with the announcement during a Zoom meeting with Judy White, Ed.D., Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, the county selection committee, her principal, the DSTA president, and district Cabinet.

White is known for her creative poetry and she used Cyr's first name to create an acrostic poem describing the teacher:

• A Astonishing
• L Loyal
• L Light
• I Inspiration
• S Support
• O Overcomer
• N Nice

According to Cyr, she always wanted to be a teacher. She has reminisced about her childhood, lining up stuffed animals and creating worksheets for them to complete.

Cyr struggled with reading growing up and remained committed to reading books aloud to her classroom as a teacher — regardless of the age of the students, according to co-workers. She was diagnosed with vocal cord paralysis and her speech therapy assignment was to practice using her “real” voice, which led to reading aloud to kids as a healing practice.

Her students write get-well cards and send packages to people all over the U.S. like cancer patients, police officers, and veterans, educators said. She is a kidney donor, helping to save the life of an Indio High School teacher.

Cyr is a graduate of Desert Sands USD schools.

"The beauty of being a teacher is that there is no such thing as an ideal day. As a class, our goal is to always be better than the day before," the educators said.

Another Riverside County teacher who was also honored Wednesday as a 2021 California Teacher of the Year was Keisa Brown. She teaches seventh- and eighth-grade Spanish, as well as other subjects, at University Heights Middle School in the Riverside Unified School District.

The other three awardees were Laura Gomez Contreras, Santa Ana Unified School District in Orange County; Jim Klipfel,Hart High Union School District in Los Angeles County; and Nora Wynne, McKinleyville Union School District in Humboldt County.

"In a year that might be the most challenging in all of our lives, these five inspiring teachers have made profound differences in the lives of their students and communities," State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said. "I'm proud that these educators are receiving this prestigious honor for their continued effort to rise above the challenges and connect with students even during unimaginable circumstances."

Cyr and the others will now join the competition for California State Teacher of the Year.