White House recognizes Indian teacher’s award

AUSTIN, TX — Somner Elementary School teacher Revathi Balakrishnan, 53, the 2016 Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year, was recognized by President Obama for excellence in teaching at a ceremony to announce the National Teacher of the Year award at the White House on May 3.

The Chennai-born Balakrishnan has an economics degree from University of Madras, and teaches math in grades 3 to 5 at Somner Elementary. Last October, Balakrishnan was named 2016 Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year and Texas Teacher of the Year, which made her eligible to compete for the National Teacher of the Year competition.

While she did not win that, Balakrishnan was the sole Texas candidate representing the state in the National Teacher of the Year program.

Balakrishnan has been an educator for nine years, six of which have been at Sommer as a founding staff member.

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Revathi Balakrishnan