Sunol Glen School teacher Huong Giang was one of seven honorees to earn an inaugural Bridging the Distance Award from the Alameda County Office of Education last month.

The nominees received the honor for their commitment to and excellence in distance learning instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic at the 31st annual Teacher of the Year Awards virtual ceremony on Dec. 9 -- the first time the award ceremony was held online.

Part of the school's kindergarten and first-grade team, according to Sunol Glen Unified School District's website, Giang has been teaching more than 20 years, including six at Sunol Glen. She has also taught grades 2, 3 and 5 at Sunol Glen.

"Doing the best that I can for my students and letting them know that I care about them is more important than ever," Giang said in a statement. "This has meant learning new technology programs, sharing ideas with fellow teachers, communicating clearly and often with my families, being understanding and supportive of my students, and creating detailed weekly plans that allow for flexible instructional groupings."

"My students know that I work hard for them, because I care about them and love being their teacher," Giang added.

Nominations were solicited from Alameda County parents, guardians and students. Seven educators, including Giang and Valley View Elementary teacher Lourdes Luy, were selected from 261 nominations representing 146 teachers at 49 schools to receive a Bridging the Distance Award.

ACOE did not name any county-level honorees for Teacher of the Year, instead naming two honorees from the 2020 and 2021 cohorts for consideration for the 2021 California Teacher of the Year.