Renton Rotary has selected its April Teachers of the Month:

Linda Wakeman is a fourth/fifth-grade special education teacher at Hazelwood Elementary School. She earned a bachelor’s of arts from Evergreen State College in Olympia. Wakeman continued her education at Antioch University to earn a master’s degree in education. Before teaching in Renton, she taught in the Seattle School District and worked with students with emotional and behavioral disabilities. Wakeman has been teaching in Renton for nine years.

Ryan Defant is a fourth-grade teacher at Tiffany Park Elementary School. He attended Washington State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in education and then attended City University to earn a master’s in technology, curriculum and literature. Defant’s first year of teaching was spent on the island of Maui where he taught middle school special education. This is his 12th year teaching in Renton.

Sara Khelghatian is an International Baculaureate Language and Literature teacher at Renton High School. She attended California State University where she majored in communications—journalism and minored in English. Khelghatian then earned a master’s degree in teaching from Chapman University in Orange, Calif. Before becoming a teacher, she spent two years working in advertising and public relations at a public relations firm in California. She began her teaching experience in Corona, Calif., where she taught eighth grade language arts and AVID for nine years. This is Khelghatian’s second year teaching in Renton.

Each month members of the Rotary Club recognize teachers at a luncheon held at the Maplewood Golf Course and they receive $200 to be used for classroom supplies.