The Bartlesville Public Schools District honored several teachers during the Teacher of the Year ceremony on Tuesday night. This year, the Teacher of the Year honor was given to vocal music teacher Ariel Ortega. He was one of eleven teachers nominated for the award. Ortega has been with the BPSD for eleven years and has taught several choirs and a music theory class at Central Middle School for the last five years. With the honor of Teacher of the Year, Ortega received a framed certificate, a paperweight from the Bartlesville Public School Foundation and a cash award of $25-hundred from the Schmoldt Family Foundation. And that's not all. Ortega also received the Chuck Spears Memorial Travel Award, which is two airline tickets from Southwest Airlines, from the Spears Family and Spears Travel. Ortega will represent the BPSD as a nominee for Oklahoma Teacher of the Year. Rookie of the Year honors went to two teachers: Central Middle School special education teacher Barbara Marley and Wilson Elementary School resource teacher Amanda Graddy.