Elementary school teacher Juanita Harris of Texarkana has been selected 2023 Teacher of the Year by the Arkansas Education Association. Photo credit: The Texarkana Gazette
The Arkansas Education Association (AEA) has named Juanita Harris of the Texarkana Arkansas School District (TASD) their 2023 Teacher of the Year.
Juanita teaches first grade at Harmony Leadership Academy in Texarkana. A native of the city, she attended this very school when she was a child. She describes her students as being her children, and asserts she can relate to them because she comes from the same neighborhood as they do.
“Originally, I wanted to be a social worker,” Juanita once revealed. “I remember coming home after church and I talked to my uncle Van and said, ‘I don’t know if I want to be a social worker or work in education,'” she confessed. “He asked me what I was passionate about, and I said teaching,” she continued. “He tapped me on my shoulder and said, ‘You should teach,’ and walked away.” That was the turning point. Today, Juanita’s career as an educator spans 13 years. Obviously, she is working in the perfect profession for her. “Teaching is one of the reasons I was born,” she says.
In addition to her work in the classroom, Juanita is also founder and CEO of Teachers Support Teachers, an organization whose mission is to support fellow educators. They do this by providing one opportunity per month for self-care for teachers and anyone in a PreK-12 setting through services such as group therapy sessions, massages, pedicures, funds for supplies, cookouts, and more. “Our mission for Teachers Support Teachers is to live out our vision of ‘Encouraging the Hearts that Shape the Minds,'” Juanita declares.
Her selection as the Teacher of the Year is not the only recognition Juanita has earned. She was named the Union Elementary Teacher of the Year in 2017, the TASD Teacher of the Year in 2018, and a regional finalist for Arkansas Teacher of the Year in 2019. With her recognition from AEA, Jaunita becomes a candidate for the National Education Association Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence in 2024.
Juanita earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia in 2010. She earned her Master’s degree there in Education in Curriculum and Instruction in 2013.