Perhaps the best-kept secret in New York City is its incredible teachers. Six city teachers have been chosen winners of the first Empire State Excellence in Teaching Awards. Michelle Rand, a math teacher and the chapter leader at Queens United MS, ended the 2015–16 school year on a high note when she was led into the Laurelton school auditorium where students, staff and family were waiting to spring the big “surprise.” Although many students enter her school below grade level, her pilot test-prep course for admission to the city’s elite high schools and her free-time mentoring have paid off: Of 12 students who took the math Regents last year, 11 passed and one missed by one point. “The kids are amazing,” Rand said. “They motivate me.” For acting, theater and playwriting teacher Jamie Cacciola-Price, the surprise came in September when, to thunderous student applause, UFT President Michael Mulgrew and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who initiated the award program, made the presentation at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Long Island City. Mulgrew told the crowded auditorium, “It is teachers like Jamie who inspire, who bring out the best in students.” The exuberant former actor told his students, “I am so fortunate to be able to share my passion with you. Coming to work is an absolute joy.” Two other winners, Andrea Chaves of the Women’s Leadership School of Astoria and Patrick Honner of Brooklyn Technical HS, received their awards from state Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul at ceremonies at their schools in June. Chaves’ focus is on encouraging young women to take an interest in the male-dominated field of technology. Honner was honored for his excellence in math instruction at one of the city’s elite high schools. Cuomo congratulated the winners — with two still to be announced: “This is the handful of the best of the best teachers and we wanted to say thank you.” The teachers each receive $5,000 to use for professional development and will serve as teacher ambassadors to share their expertise and insights with colleagues, university faculty and policy leaders around the state.