On Sept. 23, the Oregon Department of Education named Brennan Young the Willamette Regional Teacher of the Year. The Oregon Department of Education partners with the Oregon Lottery to award each Regional Teacher of the Year with $1,000. Young is one of 17 Regional Teachers of the Year across the state of Oregon. Now, he is a candidate for the 2026-2027 Oregon Teacher of the Year.
“Connecting my students with their peers and their community is at the foundation of my work,” Young wrote.
The award celebrates knowledge, dedication, innovation and leadership. Young has been a teacher at South for over a decade, putting his students first. Thanks to Young, the South’s Unified program has flourished.
“Our students with disabilities are known. They are teammates. They are performers. They are co-workers. They are leaders, and they are friends. They belong,” Tara Romine said.
Young works on setting his students up for success. The Unified program partners with the Marion Polk Food Share to develop job skills. They also manage the school-wide recycling program and operate a student-run coffee cart.
“I have watched you push our thinking about what inclusion really means,” Romine said. “You have challenged systems. You have created opportunities where they did not exist before. And you have helped build a culture at South where choose to include is not something we simply just say, it is something our students experience.”
South’s Unified program has earned two National Unified Champion School Banners through Special Olympics. Young implemented a fundamental belief that every student deserves to be known.
“I can just keep looking forward by showing up and believing in kids,” Young said.
