Centennial Elementary School was brimming with excitement on Thursday afternoon.

Like last year, a teacher from Harrison School District 2 has been selected as one of eight finalists for Colorado’s 2026 Teacher of the Year. Unlike last year’s recipient, first-grade teacher Emily Gaytan was surprised with the good news as she was teaching her class.

As school, district and state officials and local news reporters continued to gather near the school’s front office, not even Gaytan’s husband, Robert, knew what was in store.

“I was like, ‘Whoa, this isn’t just another teaching observation,’” he said. “This is a little overwhelming.”

The shock rippled as the contingent that included D-2 Superintendent Wendy Birhanzel, Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Córdova, State Board of Education chair Rebecca McClellan and D-2 board members spilled into Gaytan’s classroom.

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While her students erupted in cheers, Gaytan, like her husband, was “overwhelmed” by the news.

“I was also super-excited to get to share that moment with my students and that they got to be a part of that,” she said.

Gaytan, along with Cañon City High School teacher Julie Milam, were the fifth and sixth teachers out of eight to be named finalists on Thursday. The state will announce the winner in October.

Gaytan is entering her sixth year of teaching after serving as a military police officer in the U.S. Army from 2005 to 2011 and earning her bachelor’s degree in inclusive early childhood learning from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.

“Emily has always put service at the center of her life — from protecting others as a military police officer to shaping young learners as a first-grade teacher,” Birhanzel said in a statement.

“She leads with her heart, and it shows in the way students light up around her, the trust she’s built with families, and the respect she earns from colleagues and community partners. She is the kind of educator every child deserves.”

Gaytan said she originally didn’t think she wanted to be a teacher, but upon gaining some teaching experience during her time in the military, she decided to continue this work as a second career.

“Everything I learned in the military — discipline, resilience, to work hard — translates to my classroom,” she said. “The expectations that I hold my students to (is): We are here with a purpose, we are here to do our jobs and we are going to do it the best we can.”

She continues a streak of finalists from El Paso County in recent years. Last year, D-2’s Wildflower Elementary School teacher Anthony Williams was selected as one of eight finalists, while Manitou Springs D-14 teacher Miles Groth was one of seven finalists in 2023 and D-49’s Theresa James was among the final seven in 2022.

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Recent Teachers of the Year from the Colorado Springs area include D-2’s Christina Randle, Soaring Eagles Elementary School, in 2018; D-11’s Sean Wybrant, Palmer High School, in 2017; and D-38’s Kathy Thirkell, Lewis-Palmer High School, in 2015.

Asked why she thinks D-2 continues to get recognized by her department, Córdova pointed to its efforts in providing students exactly what they need.

“Harrison serves a community that really relies on its schools,” she said. “It serves a high free-and-reduced lunch community and, from the superintendent all the way down to the classrooms, people take all of those extra steps to really make sure that they provide the support that they need for their students and their community.”

Each Teacher of the Year finalist receives $1,500 from the state Department of Education and the Boettcher Foundation, while their school receives $500 from the Boettcher Foundation.

The 2026 Teacher of the Year will represent the state as a candidate for the National Teacher of the Year program and serve as a teaching ambassador to communities and organizations around the state and nation.

The program is sponsored by the Boettcher Foundation and supported by partnerships with the Colorado Education Association, Adams State University and Blue Bell Ice Cream.

Robert Gaytan admitted to holding back tears upon seeing everyone’s reactions, after years of witnessing his wife’s work in and out of the classroom. He said her students over the years have even invited her to see them outside of school, including a hospital visit when one of them was ill.

“And so it just shows that she’s a good teacher and that the parents and the kids care about her as a person as well.”

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