She Won County Teacher of the Year. Then Lost Her Position
Just months after winning a prestigious local award, Stacy Williams found out she lost her position. The experience has sent her reeling.
When Stacy Williams found out she was one of the local educators selected to be a San Diego County Teacher of the Year she was elated.
“It kind of took my breath away,” Williams said. “I have done so many different things in transition that have been unique and outside of the box, innovative, and this was like ‘Oh, wow I’m finally getting seen and acknowledged for that work.”
For Williams, the award was particularly validating because of how challenging and misunderstood her job can be.
For the last 19 years she has worked at TRACE Alternative School in San Diego Unified. It’s a transitional school that teaches life skills to adult students with disabilities aged 18 to 22. Providing such services is federally mandated.
TRACE’s goal is to teach students the skills necessary to live independent, productive lives after school. Sometimes, they provide additional instruction to students still struggling to read. At other times, they work on more hands-on skills. That could mean helping a student earn their driver’s license or providing intensive job training or even help navigating benefits programs.
As part of that work, students receive in-depth case management from educators. That’s what Williams does. Or at least, what she did.
Less than a month into the new school year, that celebration ended. Williams was excessed.
In edu-speak, that means her position was eliminated – and she may no longer get to teach at TRACE.
“I’m broken,” Williams told me. “The district has broken me.”
Read the rest of the story . . .
Written by Jakob McWhinney | September 16, 2026 | Voice of San Diego
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