Takeru Nagayoshi
New Bedford, Massachusetts Takeru’s Story Takeru Nagayoshi is the 2020 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. A sixth-year educator, he teaches AP English in New Bedford, MA. After piloting the research-based AP Capstone program, Takeru helped his district lead the state in the number of AP Certificates awarded with over 92 percent of his students passing […]
T-awannda Piper
Greensboro, North Carolina T-awannda’s Story T-awannda is a Science Teacher and Youth Advocate from Washington D.C. Now serving as an upper level Science Teacher in Greensboro, NC, she works diligently to bring equity to underserved communities through the platforms of education and social reform. T-awannda has extensive work in developing intervention and prevention programs for […]
Shane Gower
Readfield, Maine Shane’s Story Shane Gower is passionate about ideas! He considers himself fortunate to have a career as a teacher that allows him to explore his passion as he has done for the past 21 years. In addition to the classroom, he is also President of the Maine Council for the Social Studies and […]
Ryan Scheb
New York, New York Ryan’s Story Ryan Scheb is in his 8th year teaching history at Cristo Rey New York High School in New York City. At Cristo Rey, he chairs the History Department and teaches World History and AP United States History. Ryan also serves as the co-director of the school’s choir, teaches SAT […]
Rodrigo Garcia
Brownsville, Texas Rodrigo’s Story Rodrigo Garcia has educated the youth in his hometown Brownsville, Texas for 25 years in a range of Social Studies: 6th Grade World Cultures to 12th Grade AP European History. He is a proud father of a UT Longhorn son and High School skateboarding daughter. His beautiful wife is Griselda Moreno-Garcia, […]
Robin Wright
Cleveland, Tennessee Robin’s Story Robin Wright has taught for 40 years, mostly in public high schools in Kentucky, Florida, and Tennessee. She has presented content in English 1, 2, 3, 4; AP Language; Journalism (both newspaper and yearbook); Reading; Mythology; Science Fiction; Theater Arts; and Spanish 1; but, mostly, she has taught teenagers. After graduating […]
Rita Ross
New York, New York Rita’s Story As a public school English teacher in New York City, Rita Ross has been so lucky to work with a vibrant and diverse group of kids over the past 16 years. After finishing graduate school at NYU, she stayed nearby and has been at the same high school since […]
Rebecca Grella
Brentwood, New York Rebecca’s Story Dr. Rebecca A. Grella, is scientist and educator at Brentwood High School, Brentwood, NY. Rebecca has been teaching in Brentwood for 20 years where she developed a rigorous environmentally based science research program. The program has garnered national recognition as students have attended the White House Science Fair and have […]
Natasha Robinson
Chicago, Illinois Natasha’s Story Natasha is an English teacher at Urban Prep Academy in Chicago. She has taught for 14 years and with the mission of helping students realize their full potential. Natasha loves working with 9th graders because, as the first person in her family to go to college, she understands the need for […]
Liz Guillemette
Readfield, Maine Liz’s Story Liz graduated in 2001 from Bucknell University with a major in English and a minor in Education. She worked in publishing for a few years before realizing that her heart was really in the classroom. She moved to Maine and received a master’s in Literacy from the University of Southern Maine […]
