2013 Utah Teacher of the Year

By Mark Peterson, on October 5th, 2012

Junior High English and History Teacher from Orem
Named Utah’s 2013 Teacher of the Year

Sara Hacken

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah State Superintendent of Public Instruction Larry K. Shumway today named Alpine School District Lakeridge Junior High English and history teacher Sara Hacken Utah’s 2013 Teacher of the Year.

Hacken, of Orem, was presented with a check for $10,000 and will compete with her fellow teachers of the year in a national competition.

Hacken will also receive a SMART Board interactive white board from SMART Board Technologies, a laptop computer from PC Laptops, and a $250 Visa gift card from McDonald’s.

She will meet with fellow teachers of the year in Scottsdale, Ariz., and meet with the President in Washington and attend space camp in Alabama next summer.

Julie Allen, a K‐6 teacher in Antimony Elementary School in the Garfield School District was named first runner up and received a check for $5,000.

Jennifer Graviet, a ninth grade English teacher from Roy’s Sandridge Junior High in the Weber School District was named second runner up and received a check for $3,000.

A committee with representatives from the Utah State Office of Education, principals, superintendents, the Utah PTA, the Utah Education Association and 2012 Utah Teacher of the Year Leigh M. VandenAkker chose Hacken from among 25 nominations sent in from local school districts and charter schools.

“In our home, Mrs. Sara Hacken is the teacher our children will remember,” said Lakeridge Parent Teacher Student Association President Angela Cottrell who had four children taught by Hacken. “She is the one we all talk about.” “The most memorable thing about Mrs. Hacken’s class are the games,” said former student Emily Wright. “When we talked about the Great Depression, we didn’t just talk about the Great Depression. We lived it. Mrs. Hacken handed us identities and incomes. We planned out menus using ration stamps. We struggled to keep our businesses afloat. We worried about paying our mortgages. We didn’t just talk about the Great Depression. We lived it.”

Hacken succeeds Salt Lake City East High School social studies teacher VandenAkker.