Massachusetts Special Eduction educator Luisa Sparrow has been named her state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Boston Public Schools
I always enjoy sharing the story of an exceptional educator who has earned accolades for their work in public schools. One of these was Luisa Sparrow, an elementary special education teacher from Massachusetts. She has been named her state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year.
Luisa teaches fifth and sixth graders with intellectual disabilities in a multi-grade, self-contained classroom at Oliver Hazard Perry School in Boston. Her curriculum covers what is known as “life skills,” which includes such topics as personal hygiene, shopping for groceries, community navigation, and for some students, toileting. But the curriculum includes content area as well. Luisa says she is passionate about developing her students’ literacy skills and fostering a classroom community where all students can learn, grow, and be accepted. “My students, just like all others with significant disabilities, deserve the opportunity to learn alongside their neurotypical peers, not because they are able do many of the same tasks, but simply because everyone deserves a chance to belong,” declares Luisa. In addition to her work in her classroom, she serves on her school’s inclusion planning team. She also designed her school’s inclusive Cooking Club, an accessible environment.
As if all this were not enough, Luisa mentors Boston teachers who are pursuing their National Board Certification, and she serves as a Teach Plus Senior Policy Fellow. She is also an inaugural member of the Education Week Teacher Advisory Panel. Outside of school, she spends her time supporting young people who are experiencing state custody through the foster care system and working with senior citizens to document their life stories.
Luisa earned her Bachelor’s degree in Human Development from Cornell University in 2005. He earned her Master’s degree in Education with a focus in language and literacy from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2014. She completed the requirements for her National Board Certification as an Exceptional Needs Specialist.
Luisa launched her teaching career as an educator in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas when she became a 2005 Teach for America Corps member. Later she worked as an educator in Costa Rica, Delaware, and Philadelphia before relocating to Massachusetts.
