Former Colorado Teacher of the Year candidate sent to prison for sexual relationship with student

A finalist for 2025 Colorado Teacher of the Year violated the terms of her probation and continued to contact one of her former students after she'd been criminally charged for having a relationship with the student and fired from her teaching position, according to a court document.

Tera Johnson-Swartz was sentenced on March 19 to 14 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. Two cases were filed against her - the first following a grand jury investigation into the relationship, the second after detectives learned that Johnson-Swartz was trying to maintain contact with the student.

The student confirmed those attempts, according to the arrest affidavit in the second case. In an interview, the student said his former teacher walked up to him at a concert and said, "Just say you don't love me," according to a detective's narration in the affidavit.

Johnson-Swartz was 44 years old when the teacher-student relationship was discovered in January 2025 by therapists who reported it to Douglas County Human Services. The student was then 16.

Five months earlier, Johnson-Swartz had been recognized as one of seven finalists for the Colorado Teacher of the Year.

According to documents from both cases, the relationship began with texting and the exchange of music from playlists. At some point, Johnson-Swartz bought cigarettes for the student, let him use her marijuana vape pen, and the two began a physical relationship.

Johnson-Swartz was suspended from teaching at STEM School Highlands Ranch after the allegations emerged. Shortly after, she was fired and banned from the campus.

Less than a month later, on Feb. 18, 2025, school security cameras recorded the student leaving the school and getting into a car resembling the one driven by Johnson-Swartz. The student later admitted his former teacher had picked him up from school and driven him to a nearby neighborhood. 

The incident triggered a grand jury investigation. It resulted in an indictment against Johnson-Swartz. Because she was not permitted on school grounds and not authorized to take the student off school property, she was charged with felony kidnapping. The indictment also recommended three counts of sexual assault on a child and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Johnson-Swartz was arrested by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office Special Victims Unit. She posted a $100,000 bond with the help of a professional bondsperson and was released the next day, according to online court records.

It was later, over the 4th of July weekend that year, that the student's parents called authorities back to their home. They had just learned that the student and Johnson-Swartz were still communicating, according to the affidavit. 

Johnson-Swartz and the student encountered one another on two consecutive nights at Fiddlers Green, a Greenwood Village concert venue. The affidavit provides no explanation of any advance planning on either's part, but it does say that the band playing those nights was featured in the music the two had exchanged early in their relationship. 

The student later told investigators, as stated in the affidavit, "Yeah, it was, it was really weird. I was going there expecting to have a really great time. And then I just see her in front of the line, like 30 feet up, yeah it was weird."

The two spoke briefly on the second night, per the affidavit. But Johnson-Swartz began calling and texting in the days that followed, the student told investigators. 

Douglas County deputies arrested Johnson-Swartz again, this time outside a fast food restaurant where she was working as a cashier. She was denied bond this time and remained in jail, according to online court records.

The student said he was not surprised Johnson-Swartz struggled to stay away.

"No, she is an unstable woman," the student said to investigators, as stated in the affidavit. "She threw away her entire life for me. And I'm not entirely surprised by the fact that she then would have trouble letting go because she did throw her life for me. But no, I never told her I loved her, and she never said that to me."  

He added, "She is pretty stupid, I'm not gonna lie. Already ruined her life, and she keeps just making it worse."

In addition to her prison term, Johnson-Swartz was ordered to submit to six years of sex offender probation upon her release. This includes registering as a convicted sex offender. 

Twenty-third Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler stated in a press release after Johnson-Swartz's sentence: "This warning is coming from a DA and a parent: If a teacher in our community exploits their position of trust with our kids for their own lascivious desires, we will seek to change their life forever. We will work to make them a convicted felon, and we will try to take away their freedom. Here, this predator stated at her sentencing that this conduct will not define who she is. I disagree. She is now a convicted sex offender and will live with that label for decades. For those keeping track, this marks the fourth teacher convicted of a felony sex offense by our office since we came into existence last year. So far, all have been incarcerated."  

Requests for comment from Johnson-Swartz or her attorneys went unanswered.