Tag Archives: English Teachers

Middle school educator Becky Haenfler named SD’s 2026 State Teacher of the Year

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Becky Haenfler, a middle school English Language Arts teacher, has been named South Dakota’s 2026 State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight

Many outstanding teachers work with our nation’s young people in pubic schools. All of them are dedicated and hardworking, and occasionally some of them are singled out for special recognition. One of these is Becky Haenfler, a middle school teacher from South Dakota. She has been named her state’s 2026 Teacher of the Year.

Becky’s career as an educator spans 19 years. Currently, she teaches Language Arts to students in fifth through seventh grades at Avon Middle School in rural Avon, South Dakota. In fact, she works in the very same classroom she attended as a child. Her lessons are known to be engaging and meaningful, which helps her students make real-world connections. She also coaches basketball, volleyball, and track on her campus.

The honored educator is well-respected in her school district, and beyond. “Becky Haenfler has a wonderful reputation at Avon School District as being an engaging educator whose teaching style gets kids excited about reading,” declares South Dakota Secretary of Education Joseph Graves. “She is committed to making sure all of her students have the supports they need to read novels that challenge and inspire them, and that experience turns them into lifelong readers,” he continues.

Ever since she was a child, Becky has dreamed of becoming a teacher, she recently revealed. “I don’t remember wanting to do anything else,” she confesses. “Initially, it was having a good experience going to school in Avon. Having a great experience as a student made me want to come back to school to keep doing this,” she continued.

Becky earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and her Master’s degree as a Reading Literacy Specialist in 2024, both from the University of South Dakota.

To learn more about Becky Haenfler, click on this link to an interview with her published by the South Dakota State Department of Education.

Texas teacher Margaret Clark Formby founded Cowgirl Hall of Fame

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Margaret Clark formby

English teacher Margaret Clark Formby, a genuine cowgirl, founded the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in her home state of Texas. Photo credit: The Portal to Texas History

Not many teachers can describe themselves as genuine cowgirls, but one who can is a Texas English teacher named Margaret Clark Formby. This remarkable educator is best-known for founding the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in her home state of Texas.

Margaret was born in 1929 in Van Horn in Culberson County, Texas, a small town east of El Paso. She was the daughter of Fred and Mabel Clark, local ranchers. As a young woman, Margaret attended Van Horn High School, where she graduated in 1946, the salutatorian of her class. Following her high school graduation, Margaret enrolled at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English and Speech in 1950. After her college graduation, she accepted her first teaching position at Hereford High School in Hereford, Deaf Smith County, before relocating to a school in Fort Worth, Texas.

As a young woman growing up in a Western environment, Margaret believed it was important to have women recognized for their many contributions to Western culture. To this end, she founded the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Hereford. The museum was originally located in the basement of the local public library, but was later moved to a building in Fort Worth. Margaret also worked as the editor of Sidesaddle, the official magazine of the Cowgirl Hall of Fame.

In addition to cultural preservation, Margaret labored tirelessly to create better conditions for young people. She was one of two women in Texas who was named to a commission to investigate child pornography. She also served on a committee sponsored by the Texas House Speaker that researched teen pregnancy.

During her lifetime, Margaret earned many accolades for her work. In 1993, the talented educator was the first woman elected to Texas Tech University’s Rodeo Hall of Fame. In 2000, her name was added to the list of “100 That Made a Difference: History Makers of the High Plains by the Amarillo  Globe News. She also received the Pioneer Woman Award from the American Cowboy Culture Society.

Margaret Formby passed away on April 10, 2003, at the age of 73. She will forever be remembered as a hardworking educator who worked tirelessly to preserve an important part of our Western heritage.

NJ teacher Jeanette Capritti garners 2025-2026 Milken Educator Award

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Junior high school teacher Jeanette Capritti of New Jersey has garnered a prestigious 2025-2026 Milken Educator Award. Photo credit: Milken Educator Awards

It is always my pleasure to share the story of a talented educator who has earned recognition for her work in the classroom. One of these is Jeanette Capritti, a junior high school school teacher from New Jersey who has garnered a prestigious Milken Educator Award for 2025-2026. She is one of only 30 educators to be so honored this year.

Jeanette teaches Language Arts to seventh graders at Lawrence Middle School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. In her classroom, she strives to foster meaningful engagement and critical thinking skills and meaningful engagement. To accomplish this, she organizes immersive events such as sci-fi “book tastings,” where mood lighting, music, costumes, and thought-provoking questions designed to draw students into the material. In this way, Jennette encourages the use of personal, student-led storytelling to foster voice, structure, and identity.

In addition, Jennifer has contributed to the development of an elective writing course which strengthens student writing skills. She leads professional development within her district and mentors student teachers from Rider University. She has also served as a guest speaker at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). In the summers, she teaches literacy through the Summer Destinations Program.

Jeanette earned her Bachelor’s degree in English and Secondary Education in 2019 and her Master’s degree of Education in Literacy in 2024, both from TCNJ in Ewing, NJ.

The Milken Educator Awards have been described by Teacher Magazine as the “Oscars of Teaching.” In addition to the $25,000 cash prize and public recognition, the award includes membership in the National Milken Educator Network, a group of more than 2,700 exemplary teachers, principals, and specialists from all over the country whose work strengthens best practices in education. To learn more, click on Milken Educator Awards.

WA teacher Stephanie King garners prestigious NEA award

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High school English teacher Stephanie King of Granger, Washington, has garnered a 2025 Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence. Photo credit: Yakima Herald-Republic

There are many excellent educators working in American public schools, and I am always excited when I get to write about one of them. Today, I am writing about Stephanie King, a high school English teacher from Washington. She has been named one of five recipients of a 2025 Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence by the National Education Association (NEA).

Stephanie has been a teacher at Granger High School in the Yakima Valley city of Granger for 16 years. She also serves her school district as a girls varsity and middle school soccer coach. Her student population is comprised of predominantly Hispanic, multilingual, and economically disadvantaged students.

This amazing education helped her students publish a book entitled We Are America Granger: Voice of the Nation’s Future, which explores the students’s experiences in their home town. The volume was published through the national We Are America Project. “Being able to have my students be able to write their stories about what the American experience is like for them, and to highlight what it’s like here in Granger for them as teenagers and seniors last year, it was phenomenal to have the published final book in hand,” declares Stephanie.

The Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence recognizes outstanding educators for demonstrating exemplary leadership in and out of the classroom, showing expertise in their instructional practices, advocating for students and the profession, demonstrating a commitment to equity and diversity, and engaging their communities and supporting other educators, according to the NEA Foundation website.

As a Horace Mann Award honoree, Stephanie will be featured in a mini-documentary which will be premiered at the NEA Foundation Salute to Excellence in Education Gala on Feb. 13, 2026, in Washington DC. In addition, she will receive a $10,000 cash prize. Although the cash prize is intended for her personal use, this Chalkboard Champion has indicated she plans to invest part of it back into her community to fund athletics programs.

 

Kathryn Locke-Jones named Maryland’s 2024-2025 State Teacher of the Year

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English/Language Arts teacher Kathryn Locke-Jones has been named the Maryland State teacher of the Year for 2024-2025. (Photo credit: Kathryn Locke-Jones)

There are many dedicated educators working in our nation’s schools who are deserving of accolades. One of them is Kathryn Locke-Jones, a junior high school teacher who has been named Maryland’s State Teacher of the Year for 2024-2025.

Kathryn, who is often called Kat, teaches English/Language Arts to seventh graders at Hampstead Hill Academy in Baltimore, Maryland. In the years she has taught there, she initiated the school’s National History Day program and launched a writing center to support multi-lingual learners. And her efforts have garnered remarkable results. Her students have earned the highest seventh grade score on state assessments for five years in a row. Kat has taught in Baltimore City Public Schools for 12 years.

Kat says she is passionate about creating safe spaces for her students and helping them find their voice so they can tell their stories. She believes that a teacher’s greatest honor is to hand students a pen.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Kat co-founded SL24, a nonprofit foundation to educate, assist, and support students with their mental health. Her work has created a positive impact on more than 90,000 educators. Since 2019, SL24 has raised more than $4 million for mental health education and created Sean’s House, a  free 24/7 mental health safe haven for young adults between the ages 14 and 24. Since its opening in 2020, more than 32,000 people have been served by Sean’s House.

Garnering the State Teacher of the Year award is not the only honor Kat has earned. In 2019 she was named a 2019 Kennedy Leadership Award Winner for Excellence in Teaching, in recognition of having a profound impact with students and communities.

Kat earned her Bachelor’s degree in English Education from the University of Delaware in 2013. She earned her Master’s degree in education from Johns Hopkins University in 2015.