April was a special month for Julie Ellis of Montgomery County R-II and Denise Rakers of Wellsville-Middletown R-I.

Both earned teacher of the year awards for their respective districts within a week from each other. Rakers won her award on April 2, while Ellis earned her honor exactly a week later.

Now, the two are in the running for the 2026 Missouri Regional Teacher of the Year, which is awarded by Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

There were 253 teachers across the state who were selected as nominees for the regional teacher of the year award. Ellis and Rakers are the only Montgomery County area teachers who are nominated.

Other neighboring teachers who were nominated include Hope Tinnin of Warren County R-III, Alison Barnhart of Wright City R-II, Heather Millard of Lincoln County R-III, Philip Dunkle of Bowling Green R-I and Missy McCoskey of Community R-VI.

Ellis wrapped up her 29th year as teacher of the R-II School District this spring. She is a language arts teacher at Montgomery County High School.
Ellis graduated from MCHS in 1991. She was a member of the school’s Academic Hall of Fame.

“Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat,” Ellis said in April. “The people here are incredible, the community, students and the people I work with. It’s a good place to call home.”

Ellis taught at the middle school for three years before joining the high school staff in 1999. In 2019, she was named finalist of the Missouri Teacher of the Year.

Ellis was one of four candidates for the R-II Teacher of the Year award. The others were Madelyn Woods of Montgomery County Middle School, Keri Rhodes of Jonesburg Elementary and Tara Polston of Montgomery City Elementary.

Rakers earned her R-I Teacher of the Year award during an afternoon assembly at the school’s gymnasium. It was the first time in several years the school district gave out a teacher of the year award.

A 1997 MCHS graduate, Rakers started teaching at W-M in 2019. She is an online studies teacher, instructing English, math and pre-algebra.

“I see a lot of kids,” Rakers said.

Regional teacher of the year application period was scheduled to close on June 14. Between June 15 and July 15, regional teachers of the year are selected and the teacher of the year application period begins. The Missouri State Teacher of the Year is selected in either August or September.

Jennifer Jones of Lee’s Summit R-VII was voted the 2025 Missouri Teacher of the Year last year. The Missouri Teacher of the Year has been chosen every year since 1957.