Teacher of year: 4th grade teacher from Seattle

SEATTLE — A fourth grade teacher from Seattle is the Washington state teacher of the year for 2015.

Lyon Terry of Lawton Elementary specializes in helping students improve their writing and vocabulary. He runs the school’s safety patrol and started the Walking School Bus program at his school.

Terry worked in the Highline School District and in New York City Public Schools before coming back to the Pacific Northwest to teach at Lawton. The nationally board certified teacher also has taught second, third and multiage classes at Lawton, where he has taught since 2005.

His own two children have attended Lawton since kindergarten.

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