Oklahoma music educator Leah is one of five outstanding teachers who has garnered a 2025 Medal for Excellence from the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. McDonald Photo credit:Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence

There are many exceptional teachers working with young people in our nation’s public schools, and I am always pleased to shine a spotlight on one of them. Today I shine a light on Leah McDonald, an elementary school music teacher from Oklahoma. She is one of five outstanding teachers who has garnered a 2025 Medal for Excellence from the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence.

Leah teaches music to 750 K-5 students at Heritage Elementary at Edmond Public Schools in Oklahoma City. In her classroom, every one of her third, fourth, and fifth grade students plays the ukulele, including those with limited fine motor skills. Those students are given adaptive instruments and add-on devices with which to make music.

This unique classroom approach is appreciated by her peers. “Leah uniquely connects lessons to each grade level’s regular classroom Oklahoma Academic Standards,” remarks Cathey Bugg, the former Principal of Heritage Elementary. “Literacy is embedded in every lesson. Students read scores and lyrics and interact with children’s literature,” says Bugg.

Leah’s career as an educator spans 27 years, and 26 of them have been spent in Edmond, the city where she grew up. She says she decided to be a music teacher when she was only eight years old. “I became a teacher because of my love and passion for music,” she declares. “I teach music each day because I love children and making music with them,” she continues.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Leah has served in leadership positions in her school and in the state. She has served as an elementary music district facilitator, guiding and mentoring other music Edmond educators. She also chairs her school’s committee for the Great Expectations, a professional development program. In addition, she directs the Edmond Youth Chorus and also completed a stint as the President of the Oklahoma Music Educators Association from 2021-2023.

Her honor from the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence is not the only recognition Leah has earned. In 2004 she was named Teacher of the Year by Edmond Public Schools, and the same year she became a finalist for her state’s Teacher of the Year.

Leah earned both her Bachelor’s degree and her Master’s degree from Oklahoma State University.