Hope Elementary School District Teacher Named Santa Barbara County Teacher of the Year

Natalie Wilkes Is Praised for Reshaping Reading in Her District

Natalie Wilkes received the title of Teacher of the Year as recognition for her inclusive and effective approach to reading instruction. | Credit: Santa Barbara County Education Office

Natalie Wilkes, a 1st-grade teacher at Hope Elementary School District’s Monte Vista Elementary School, draws on her own childhood struggles with reading and writing and uses them to create an inclusive classroom.

After perfecting this empathetic approach to teaching over the past 14 years, Wilkes received some well-deserved recognition: Santa Barbra County Teacher of the Year. The Santa Barbara County Education Office crowned her on Thursday, May 8, during the County Board of Education meeting.

Wilkes played a “key role” in reshaping her campus’s reading intervention program — a hot topic of discussion around the county — and advancing district-wide dyslexia awareness.

“As someone who needed extra support learning to read, it’s incredibly rewarding to explicitly teach my students how to ‘crack the code’ with evidence-based literacy practices,” Wilkes said. “I’m grateful to be teaching in a time when research informs how we teach and support young learners.”

With the county title under her belt, Wilkes is now eligible for the California Teacher of the Year award — an honor that was previously bestowed upon Santa Ynez Valley teacher Gregory Wolf in 2023.

“Natalie Wilkes brings deep personal insight to her work, shaped by her own experiences as a student, and uses it to create a vibrant classroom that serves every child and the unique ways they learn,” said Susan Salcido, Santa Barbara County superintendent of schools.

Natalie Wilkes (center), a 1st-grade teacher in the Hope Elementary School District, was named the 2026 Santa Barbara County Teacher of the Year. | Credit: Santa Barbara County Education Office

“Her leadership in early literacy and inclusive instruction is making a lasting impact on her school, her district, and now, our entire county,” she continued. “We’re so proud to recognize Natalie and the Hope School District team, and look forward to spotlighting Natalie’s expertise as our county’s Teacher of the Year.”

According to the Education Office, the process for selecting the Santa Barbara County Teacher of the Year begins in the fall, when all Santa Barbara County school districts are invited to submit a nomination. Applicants are required to have at least eight years of teaching experience.

The SBCEO Teachers Network and a selection committee review the nominations, and finalists then go through an interview process and are observed in their classrooms to parse their individual teaching styles and philosophies of education.

Wilkes, along with other award-winning teachers from Santa Barbara County, will be introduced at SBCEO’s Education Celebration on Thursday, May 22, and officially honored at the annual A Salute to Teachers event to be held in October.