Governor Ron DeSantis celebrated the five Florida Teacher of the year finalists in Orlando Thursday. The Florida Teacher of the Year is a statewide awards contest that recognizes outstanding educators throughout the state.
This year's finalists were chosen from a pool of more than 175,000 teachers. Teachers are nominated by their districts to participate, and then a committee of principals, teachers, parents, and local community leaders chose the Teacher of the Year.
The five finalists receive a $20,000 bonus, with the Teacher of the Year receiving a $50,000 bonus.
For the second year in a row, one of the finalists, Brandy Nicole Anderson, is from Central Florida. Anderson is a civics teacher at Indian Trails Middle School in Flagler County, where she's also the social studies department chair and assistant track and field coach.
DeSantis cheered on the finalists, thanking them for their role in Florida's strides in education.
"We set policy, we provide some of the funding, and we're happy to do that, but this education is really bottom up, and it's the folks that are there every day that really make the difference," said DeSantis.
Watch Governor Ron DeSantis celebrate the Florida Teacher of the Year finalists:
Governor DeSantis Awards Florida’s Teacher of the Year Finalists https://t.co/YgWPpaV6TD
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) July 17, 2025
DeSantis highlighted the fact that K-12 schools showed marked improvements on the latest statewide grades, and Florida continues to rank #1 for education in U.S. News and World Report and other roundups.
DeSantis said it's one of the many reasons he wishes the legislature could have agreed on higher raises for teachers this year – he proposed $1.5 billion for increases in his February budget request.
Ultimately, the legislature approved $1.36 billion for teacher raises this year, a $101.6 million dollar increase over last year.
"It was more than what we did in previous year, but I think we can do better next year," said DeSantis.
The Florida Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, called the raises not enough.
The union said these raises would amount to only $20 dollars more per paycheck. "This does nothing to move Florida from #50 in the nation for average salary to the top ten," it said in a statement.
The Teacher of the Year will be announced tonight at a gala in Orlando.
Watch the gala on the Florida Channel, starting at 7 PM EST.
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