Rancho Mirage High educator a Riverside County teacher of the year

More than 100 students surprised Rancho Mirage High School teacher Marie Stevenson at an assembly Friday to announce she is one of four Riverside County teachers of the year.

“This is pretty awesome, but, really, I do it for you. You guys are the reason,” Stevenson said to the bleachers full of students after receiving her award.

Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Edwin Gomez delivered the good news to her in front of the big crowd.

“Ms. Stevenson’s colleagues describe her as the lens that others look through to understand more of themselves,” Gomez said. “She builds relationships with others, and she makes connections to the real world for her students.”

Stevenson, a Beaumont resident and RMHS math department chair, has 16 years of teaching experience.

Among her noteworthy accomplishments include her knack to curb students "math anxiety" by integrating mental health and community-building techniques into classroom routines. She also serves as a curriculum representative to the Palm Springs Unified School District and creates math practice videos on her personal YouTube channel.

Stevenson will join James Waedekin from Banning Unified School District, Lindsay Hill from Beaumont Unified School District and Lorena Morales from Alvord Unified School District in representing Riverside County in the California State Teacher of the Year competition later this year.

Jonathan Horwitz covers education for The Desert Sun. Reach him at jonathan.horwitz@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Rancho Mirage High educator a Riverside County teacher of the year