Lauren Zarandona named Mississippi's 2026 Teacher of the Year

Lauren Zarandona named Mississippi's 2026 Teacher of the Year

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A Columbus-based teacher is the Mississippi Department of Education’s 2026 Teacher of the Year. Lauren Zarandona is a teacher at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science for 11th and 12th-grade math. Zarandona says learning is more than getting a correct answer or knowing the right information, but said learning leads to understanding for all students. She said teaching students how to think is more important t…

MDE announces 2026 Mississippi Administrator of the Year, Teacher of the Year

JACKSON, Miss. – Today, the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) announced the 2026 Mississippi Administrator of the Year is Dr. Matthew Fulton, principal at Sumner Hill Junior High School in the Clinton Public School District, and the 2026 Mississippi Teacher of the Year is Lauren Zarandona, a teacher at Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science. The winners were announced at a program today led by MDE’s Office of Teaching and Leading…