Yuma teacher advances in America’s Favorite Teacher contest, seeks votes

A Yuma classroom could gain $25,000, a trip to Hawaii for two, a Reader’s Digest appearance and a school assembly with Bill Nye if Narey Zaragoza keeps advancing in America’s Favorite Teacher. Her competition page lists her as a quarter-finalist and shows her in third place in the round, with semi-final voting running through Thursday, May 7, at 7 p.m. PDT. Voters get one free vote every 24 hours, and additional votes can be cast through donations.

The contest has put Zaragoza’s teaching story on a national stage. She says she feels she was born to be a teacher and remembers playing teacher with her cousins as a child, using a chalkboard her grandfather gave her. One of her most memorable moments came when a student who hated math slowly improved over two years and later returned with A’s and B’s in the subject. Zaragoza said part of the prize money would go toward paying bills and supporting her children’s educational goals, giving the race a direct family payoff as well as a professional one.

America’s Favorite Teacher is presented by Colossal as a fundraising competition. Colossal says the campaign supports Teach For America, and Zaragoza’s page also says donations benefit The Planetary Society. That combination of prize money, public voting and charity fundraising has made the contest about more than bragging rights. For a Yuma educator, it is also a test of how much visibility and support a teacher can generate beyond the classroom.

The local stakes reach beyond one contest. Valley Horizon Elementary School in Yuma says parent participation is key to student success and describes its mission as providing a safe, enriching learning environment while supporting each student’s academic and emotional well-being. Crane Elementary School District earned an overall B from the Arizona Department of Education in 2024, and four Crane schools earned A grades. Yuma County also has a recent teacher-recognition milestone: Neomi Pharmes, a Crane Middle School math teacher, was named the county’s 2025 Teacher of the Year at the Yuma Civic Center. Zaragoza’s run now adds another Yuma educator to that same public conversation, with money, recognition and national attention still in play.