Pasco teacher earns regional award

An eighth-grade teacher at Pasco’s McLoughlin Middle School was recently named Regional Teacher of the Year for the area served by Educational Service District 123.

Omar Escalera is the eighth Pasco teacher in 11 years to earn the annual regional award. He was honored along with other regional award winners from the state during a recent award ceremony in Olympia.

Escalera began working in Pasco in 2001 as a bilingual tutor. Since then, he’s spent much of his career in the district working in different roles in the Two-Way Dual Language program, which encourages bilingual fluency in native English and native Spanish speakers.

This story was originally published September 27, 2015 at 10:18 PM with the headline "Pasco teacher earns regional award."