2022 Louisiana Teacher of the Year

Annelise Cassar Tedesco

Chalmette High School, St. Bernard Parish

Mrs. Annelise Cassar Tedesco currently serves as Vocal Music Teacher and Music Director for CHS Voices, Chalmette High School’s Music Theatre and Vocal Arts program. She has taught at Chalmette High School since 2008. An alumna of St. Bernard Parish Public Schools and valedictorian of Chalmette High School’s graduating class of 2002, Annelise graduated from Loyola University New Orleans, summa cum laude. At Chalmette High School, she has coached multiple finalists in the Donald W. Wood Sr. Vocal Competition. She has also coordinated and traveled with students to competitions, performances, and auditions in Chicago, Orlando, Syracuse, and New York City, where students have earned multiple awards, scholarships and performed on the stage of the New Amsterdam Theatre. Additionally, Annelise works to create a more vibrant, student-centered environment which has created equitable learning opportunities for all. She also serves as Music Director for St. Bernard’s Performing Arts Academy. No stranger to the concert or theatrical stage herself, some of her performance credits include Mahler for the Children of Aids and Beethoven for the Indus Valley, two benefit concerts at Carnegie Hall to raise funds and public awareness for global pediatric AIDS and victims of the 2010 Pakistani floods, respectively. She also maintains her professional singing career on a weekly basis at Trinity Episcopal Church on Jackson Avenue. Most recently, Annelise was honored to be the soprano soloist for Handel's Messiah in a collaborative concert with musicians from the Symphony Chorus of New Orleans, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and Chalmette High's own CHS Voices Varsity Chorale.

2022 HONOREES

The Teacher of the Year Process

The process for selecting a Louisiana Teachers of the Year begins at the local level. Each school within every public or public charter school district is eligible to select a Teacher of the Year subject to their own selection criteria. Those individual local school nominations are sent to the District level for further review and consideration.

Each District Superintendent or public charter school District may select three outstanding teachers to forward to the State Department of Education for competition at the state level. Of the three District nominations, there will be one elementary, one middle school, and one high school teacher selected.

The Louisiana Department of Education continues a review and evaluation of all District candidates submitted. To learn more about the Teacher of the Year selection process, contact LDOE at louisianabelieves.com/teaching/award-programs. Questions regarding the selection process or on-line applications should be directed to the department.

The 2020 Louisiana Teacher of the Year will be announced at the 2019 Cecil J. Picard Educator Excellence Awards Gala to be held on July 19, 2019 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Baton Rouge. This event is dedicated to recognizing and honoring Louisiana’s outstanding educators, and is jointly sponsored by Dream Teachers and the Louisiana Department of Education in cooperation with the Louisiana Association of Principals.