An educator who specialises in teaching children with autism has been crowned Teacher of the Year for her work over the past 12 months.

Zola French-Ray received the prize during the 2025 Teaching Awards, which highlighted ten highly regarded contenders.

The teacher at West Pembroke Primary School told a crowd at the event on Friday that it was vital for children with autism to receive the enrichment needed to perform alongside their neurotypical peers.

She said: “Often times there are so many children in our school system who have so many gifts and, though they don’t have the voice right now, that voice will come — it’s just not there yet.”

The event was hosted by the Bermuda Education Network and held at The Cloud at the Waterfront in Pembroke.

It was well attended by educators and their spouses, as well as Crystal Caesar, the Minister of Education, Ben Smith, the Shadow Minister of Education, and Andrew Murdoch, the Governor.

Ms French-Ray teaches children of all primary grades who are on the autism spectrum, with about ten pupils in her class.

She said some youngsters would be moving out of her class and into mainstream classes — something she pushed for because “it’s so important for them to be with their neurotypical peers and gain that role-modelling experience”.

Ms French-Ray added: “I have non-verbal students and I have verbal students.

“They have friendships. They interact with students in the mainstream classes. They are loved and they are housed at West Pembroke and other schools with other special needs programmes.”

About 50 attendees heard that Ms French-Ray often tried to get her pupils involved in the community.

She explained that taking part in activities with children on the autism spectrum, such as going to camps and after school activities, was challenging for parents.

Ms French-Ray added: “These aren’t things that come easy for these families.

“They can’t just sign their child up to do a ballet class on a Saturday morning.

“We’ve got to get to a place in Bermuda where this becomes more accessible to families who have children with special needs.”

Outside of her classes, Ms French-Ray holds a monthly Coffee, Chat and Chew session for parents, and advocates for art therapy and other resources for families.

She said that the reason for her dedication was simple: “I genuinely love what I do.”

Ms French-Ray added that she was grateful for her leadership team, explaining that “it really takes a school village to make a change”.

Ms Caesar sang the praises of Ms French-Ray, telling the gathering that she had seen the teacher at work.

The minister said: “Towards the beginning of the school year, I saw her on the floor with her students and giving that hands-on care.

“That is the type of attitude that I want to applaud and recognise and let you know that I have seen you in action and you are very deserving of this award.”

Meanwhile, several new awards were presented to other finalists.

They included the Outstanding School and Community Spirit Award for Terry Henry, a music teacher at Northlands and Paget primary schools.

Ahead of his recognition, he performed for attendees with the help of the band Working Title and five members of the Northlands Primary School Choir.

Shayla Morton, a P5 teacher at Francis Patton School, won the Family Engagement Award.

Kelly Massa, a P3 Somerset Primary School teacher, and her paraeducator colleague, Simone Basden, won the Outstanding Teaching Team Award for their combined work in the classroom.

Other finalists included Denika Wade, of Whitney Institute Middle School; Karen Trott, of Purvis School; Sara Westhead, of Whitney Institute, Stephanie Hughes, of West End Primary School; Suzette Cheeseman, of St David’s Primary; and Tabathia Roberts, of East End Primary.