Dan Mini Elementary teacher named Vallejo’s Teacher of the Year

VALLEJO – Charlotte Sanchez, a fifth grade teacher at Dan Mini Elementary School, was named the Vallejo City Unified School District’s 2025 Teacher of the Year on Wednesday.

“It brings me great joy to receive this recognition,” Sanchez told the Vallejo Sun in an interview. “I’m deeply grateful for all the support I’ve received over the years.”

Sanchez is the daughter of Mexican parents and grew up in Anaheim in Southern California. She moved north at 25 to live with her sister while attending Chico State University for two and a half years, then finished her teaching credential at Sonoma State University. 

After applying to teach in Vallejo, she got a job at Dan Mini Elementary School, where she’s now taught for 20 years. She lives in Vallejo with her partner, two dogs, and a cat.

She attributes healthy, supportive relationships with co-workers as the biggest factor in her having a successful teaching career and deciding to stay at Dan Mini long term.

“Dan Mini feels like home,” Sanchez said. “I believe what makes a person stay at their job is the people. We share aspects about our lives, not just teaching, and my co-workers have always been a supportive system for me.”

Dan Mini teachers have a group chat where they discuss challenges they face both inside and outside of work. Some teachers also meet up in person, such as gathering for birthdays. Sanchez said the community was especially helpful for her when her parents passed away.

Sanchez recalls that when she first started teaching, her principal told her not to be afraid to copy useful strategies she saw other teachers practice. She took that advice to heart, using ideas from many other teachers and combining them together.

“I’ve seen all these excellent teachers over the years and I’ve carried on their attributes but made them my own,” Sanchez said. “Through my fellow teachers I’ve found my own voice.”

Sanchez said she’s grown more bold throughout her life, and she strives to instill that confidence in her students. As a young student, she said she had a hard time speaking up. Part of her teaching style now is to make her classroom a “comfortable place to talk and be heard.” About a third of her students are English learners, and she said academic discussion is especially crucial for them.

Sanchez said that these days she experiments with teaching strategies much more than in the past.

“I was timid but now I take more chances and risks,” Sanchez said. “You figure out what works and doesn’t and then you adjust. Your students will definitely let you know.”

In addition to teaching her fifth grade class, Sanchez recently helped out with Girls on the Run, a program for girls which blends running with social emotional development skills. She also tutors English learners after school. For the last three school years, Sanchez has been mentoring teachers, which she said has enriched her own teaching practice.

“I’m learning more about myself through the teachers I mentor,” Sanchez said. “I share my teaching practices but I also reflect on them. It’s a two way learning experience.”

Sanchez encourages new teachers to stick with it even though the job has what she describes as a big learning curve, which makes it difficult to start out.

“If you are reflective in your practices and lean on your colleagues, it will be an enriching experience,” Sanchez said.

When asked what she’s most proud of during her career, Sanchez said it’s the whole process that has gotten her teaching with courage and confidence. 

“I’m proud to have developed the skills where I know it works,” Sanchez said. “Everyday I come into the classroom I know it makes a difference.”