Ashlee Phair, a fourth-grade teacher at Village Elementary, has been named the Village Teacher of the Year, recognizing her dedication to students and families in the Coronado Unified School District (CUSD).<\/p>\n
Phair said she did not expect to receive the honor, especially given the strength of the colleagues she works alongside every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was honored yet surprised to find out I was being named Teacher of the Year, as I work with many dedicated educators who could have easily been recognized as well,\u201d she told me.<\/p>\n
For Phair, the recognition is deeply meaningful because it reflects her passion for teaching and the relationships she has built in the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an honor to be recognized for something that I truly enjoy doing,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve built lasting relationships with my students and their families over the years, and it\u2019s truly a joy to see them learn and grow each year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phair\u2019s connection to Coronado and to the military community began at birth. \u201cI was born at Balboa Hospital while my dad was a Marine stationed here in Coronado,\u201d she explained. Her early childhood was spent on military bases and in several states, experiences that would later shape her understanding of the students she serves.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe moved to Camp Pendleton when I was a toddler, and I spent most of my childhood living on base there,\u201d she explained. \u201cWe did spend some time living in George and Virginia as well, but eventually came back to Southern California.\u201d<\/p>\n
Growing up in these close-knit, mobile communities, Phair developed a strong appreciation for school as a welcoming and stable environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always had a love for learning,\u201d she said. \u201cThroughout my education, I had many inspiring educators that made lasting impressions. Living on military bases from kindergarten to eighth grade, I saw how welcoming the teachers were and the importance of creating a caring classroom environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those early impressions fueled a clear sense of direction from a young age. \u201cI knew from a young age that I wanted to become an elementary teacher,\u201d Phair said. After high school, she attended college in Santa Barbara and kept that goal in focus. Upon graduation, she chose to return to San Diego to begin her career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI moved back to San Diego after graduating from college in Santa Barbara with the hope of teaching at an elementary school that served military students,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her first year in education included several significant opportunities to step into the classroom. \u201cIn my first year teaching, I had a couple of long-term substitute teaching positions in San Diego Unified,\u201d Phair explained. One of those early experiences led directly to her current position. \u201cOne of the schools that I taught at in San Diego had a connection to Village Elementary, and I was then hired here in the fall of 2008.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since then, Phair has been a consistent presence at Village Elementary, working with students and families, many of whom share the military background that shaped her own life. That shared experience is central to how she views her role.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith 40% of CUSD students being military connected, my position as an educator in this community is important because I am able to connect with these students with my shared experiences,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her understanding of military life, frequent moves, and changing schools informs the classroom environment she strives to create. Drawing on her own schooling years, she emphasizes the importance of teachers who are both welcoming and attentive.<\/p>\n
As she reflects on her Teacher of the Year recognition, Phair is quick to acknowledge that her journey has been supported by many people over the years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to thank my family for supporting me throughout my career,\u201d she said. \u201cIn my early years of teaching, it was my parents and siblings who came in during the summer to help set up my classroom, and now it is my husband and my own children. I have also had many supportive colleagues over the years, and I have learned a lot from their experience and expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n
From her early days as a child on military bases to her long tenure at Village Elementary, Phair\u2019s story is grounded in a love of learning, a commitment to a caring classroom, and a deep connection to the military community she serves. Her Teacher of the Year honor reflects the relationships she has built and the impact she continues to have on students and families in Coronado Unified School District.<\/p>\n
VOL. 116, NO. 18 – May 6, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ashlee Phair, a fourth-grade teacher at Village Elementary, has been named the Village Teacher of the Year, recognizing…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":797826,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,51350,3549,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-797825","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-coronado_island_news","12":"tag-san-diego","13":"tag-sandiego","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-united-states-of-america","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116577809627258150","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=797825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/797826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=797825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=797825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=797825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}