Oregon’s 2025-26 Teacher of the Year
Sally puts her heart and soul into helping young adults of all abilities learn important and valuable life skills so they can thrive. Congratulations to Sally Golden, Oregon’s Teacher of the Year!
Special Education in the Spotlight
Oregon Lottery is proud to sponsor the Teacher of the Year program, which rewards those who dedicate their lives to inspiring students every day.
Sally is a dedicated and inspiring teacher who leads Springfield School District’s Community Transition Program (CTP), a program for students ages 18 to 21 who experience mild to moderate disabilities and are eligible for special education transition services. She empowers her students, teaching them important skills for responsible adult living, with a focus on work skills and community inclusion.
Independent Living and Community Inclusion
You might think of school as just math tests and English papers, but for the students of CTP, their learning goes far beyond a desk. Navigating the city bus. Cooking a lunch. Writing a resume. These pieces of independent living and community participation are critically important for young adults with disabilities. Sally and her supportive staff provide instruction and practice in real environments for all the daily living skills that are needed in adult life.
Every student is unique, and although they may have a disability, it doesn’t define them. Instead, it’s just their unique preferences, interests, needs and strengths.— Sally Golden
Work Skills for Life
Work placement through CTP gives students real-world experience that can’t be replicated in a classroom. Sally has built long-term relationships with local businesses that enable her to align her students with jobs that fit their strengths. St. Vincent de Paul, Roaring Rapids Pizza Co, and Willamalane are a few of the places where students are gaining work experience and, through that, self-esteem. Students are also clamoring to work shifts at City Perk, a coffee cart run by CTP, where they learn customer service skills and responsibility, all while interacting with their community.
Self-Advocacy
A primary goal for Sally is for all her students to be able to identify their own preferences, interests, needs, and strengths, or PINS. Through a variety of CTP groups, Sally encourages her students to learn their own likes and dislikes, and then through exercises like the one-page profile presentation, they learn how to communicate their PINS to others. Self-advocacy, and learning what it means to advocate for themselves, is a skill that will serve her students throughout their lives, both work and personal.
A Team Effort
“Make sure your team is a cohesive whole, and everything else falls into place.” Sally attributes her success, partially, to her phenomenal team. Due to the wide array of activities they supervise, Sally leans on her team to ensure the CTP students all get the assistance they need. Each of her supporting staff members puts their heart and soul into their work, day in and day out.
A True Local
Made in Springfield
Sally is a hometown girl at heart, teaching in the same district she was raised in. She attended elementary school where Two Rivers Dos Rios now stands, as well as neighboring Springfield High School, where she could often be found shooting 3-pointers for the basketball team. For Sally, giving back to the Springfield community, while at the same time sharing it with her students, is the ultimate win-win.
Know a Great Teacher?
Fill out the nomination form and tell us what makes them exceptional! Deadline to nominate for the 2026-27 Teacher of the Year is February 11, 2026.
Nominate TodayPrevious Teachers of the Year
Featured Projects
LOTTERY DOLLARS DOING GOOD THINGS IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Economic Growth
State Parks
Outdoor School
Natural Habitats
Public Schools
