English teacher Leah Pevar attended the Encino Chamber of Commerce’s 23rd annual Teacher of the Year awards dinner unsure of what to expect.

“I had no idea what it was going to be,” Pevar said. “I assumed I’d just get a certificate and have dinner.”

Later that night however, Pevar happily walked out of the Hilton Woodland Hills Hotel with a special plaque with her name, a certificate signed by a local assemblyman and a cart filled to the brim with classroom supplies, all for being recognized for her commitment to Daniel Pearl Magnet High School.

“I got reams of paper, pencils, Kleenex and lots of other great items to use in my classroom,” Pevar said.

The Encino Chamber of Commerce, a Tarzana-based business community consisting of more than 400 member companies of various services, holds this awards dinner to recognize the hard work and passion of local teachers.

The April 20 dinner gave awards to twenty teachers from each Los Angeles district, along with one award for a teacher selected from all the districts combined.

As one of the twenty winners of the local district Northwest, Pevar interprets this accomplishment as a motivation to further innovate the minds of her students and make her classroom environment a center of creativity.

“Winning this award makes me want to do even more and even better,” Pevar said. “I’m really happy with the work I’m doing here but I only think I can do better because I want my students to do better as well and succeed.”