HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania’s 2025 Teacher of the Year, Leon Smith, has been named one of five finalists for 2026 National Teacher of the Year, putting a veteran Haverford High School educator on a national stage that has recently delivered a headline-making win for the Commonwealth.
Education Secretary Dr. Carrie Rowe announced the selection by the Council of Chief State School Officers, which runs the National Teacher of the Year program. Smith is a secondary teacher at Haverford High School in the Haverford Township School District in Havertown, where state officials said he has become a districtwide leader on professional development in culturally relevant teaching, growth mindset, effective lesson design, belonging strategies, and support for historically marginalized students.
Rowe said Smith’s work demonstrates how a single educator can shape students and strengthen a broader community.
Smith has spent more than two decades in the district and currently teaches AP United States History and AP African American Studies. His education includes a bachelor’s degree in secondary social studies education from the University of Maryland at College Park, a master’s degree in educational leadership in technology integration from Pennsylvania State University, and a PK–12 principal certification from Cabrini University.
State officials said Smith’s leadership extends beyond the classroom through roles that include African American Cultural Enrichment Advisor, freshmen boys’ basketball coach, and mentor. He also launched a Grow Your Own teacher program in the district aimed at developing new and future educators.
Smith also serves as a policy advocate. As a member of the Teach Plus National Senior Policy Cabinet, officials said he will gain policy skills aimed at supporting students and teachers nationwide.
If selected as National Teacher of the Year, Smith would spend the next year as an ambassador for education and an advocate for teachers and students across the country. The winner will be named in the spring.
The other finalists announced are Katie Collins, Alabama Teacher of the Year and a first-grade teacher at Bluff Park Elementary in Hoover, Alabama; Rachel Kinsaul, Georgia Teacher of the Year, who teaches agriculture at Morgan County High School in Madison, Georgia; Michelle Gross, Kentucky Teacher of the Year, a seventh-grade mathematics and gifted studies teacher at Spencer County Middle School in Taylorsville, Kentucky; and Linda Wallenberg, Minnesota Teacher of the Year, a ninth- through 12th-grade English teacher at Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
Smith said he was honored to represent Pennsylvania and thanked his family, colleagues, students, and the Haverford Township community for their support.
Pennsylvania’s profile in the program has been elevated in recent years. Last May, Pennsylvania’s 2024 Teacher of the Year, Ashlie Crosson, was named 2025 National Teacher of the Year, according to state officials.
More information about the 2026 State Teachers of the Year and the National Teacher of the Year program is available at https://ntoy.ccsso.org/.
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