TeachKind’s 2026 Teacher of the Year Contest  

Meet the Winners!

Each May, in honor of Teacher Appreciation Month, TeachKind proudly recognizes educators committed to animal-friendly pedagogy through our Teacher of the Year contest. This year, we’re thrilled to honor two exceptional individuals who are transforming how children learn empathy, kindness, and responsibility toward animals and one another.  

For the first time, we’re awarding a homeschool teacher and a public-school teacher, who, through creative classroom initiatives and community engagement, demonstrate how compassion can be woven into everyday learning, no matter where you teach.  

From organizing schoolwide events and advocating for cruelty-free practices to reimagining homeschool curricula through an empathy-centered lens, TeachKind’s 2026 Teachers of the Year remind us that meaningful change begins with intentional choices. Thank you to everyone who entered or nominated someone for this year’s contest.  

Meet the Remarkable 2026
Teachers of the Year: 

Stephanie Curson 

An Art Teacher at Marshall Street Elementary School in Norristown, PA

A dedicated art teacher at Marshall Street Elementary School, Stephanie Curson leads with compassion, her influence rippling far beyond her classroom walls. As the only vegan teacher at her school, she embraces the opportunity to model kindness every day, starting the year with a heartfelt presentation that introduces students to her favorite animals, rescue stories, and her own volunteer work. Outside her classroom, vibrant photos of animals and thoughtful messages invite conversation among the nearly 600 students she teaches, helping normalize empathy as a shared value. For Stephanie, these small, consistent touchpoints lay the foundation for a culture where caring for animals—and one another—is central to how the school community connects.

She Inspires Compassion From Day One

In the fall, Stephanie organized a back-to-school vegan ice cream social in partnership with the Parent-Faculty Club and TeachKind donations, creating a welcoming event that introduced students to the idea that kindness can guide our choices. During the holiday season, she coordinated a vegan roast giveaway during parent-teacher conferences, and the response from both families and staff was overwhelmingly positive. In January, she partnered with a local animal sanctuary and brought the message that “animals are teachers, too” directly into classrooms, sparking meaningful reflection and gratitude among students.

Building on these connections, she worked with TeachKind to provide the entire fourth grade with copies of Unlocking the Animal World, then visited classrooms to connect the book to science lessons on animal adaptations and to invite students to reflect on what they were learning. Their responses — from helping insects safely outdoors to recognizing friendships among cows— reflect the depth of the impression she is making.

Stephanie’s advocacy is both practical and persistent, and her care for animals extends to meaningful changes on and off campus. Early in the school year, she spoke with the custodial team about avoiding glue traps, and she has continued working collaboratively to find more humane solutions. She has rescued mice on school grounds and even brought in cruelty-free mouse traps for other teachers facing similar issues. With support from TeachKind and connections to community advocates, she is helping build momentum toward a larger goal: ending the use of glue traps in her entire school district. Stephanie is also advocating for more vegan cafeteria options and plant-based milk, showing how one educator’s voice can open doors to broader institutional change.

She Brings Her Passion for Animals Everywhere She Goes

Stephanie’s influence extends beyond school, as her leadership shines across the broader community. Outside of the classroom, she helps run Revolution Philadelphia, where she advocates for all animals, works with legislators, and supports campaigns to end horse-racing subsidies and foie gras. She also organizes Phoenixville VegFest each summer, an event that draws thousands of attendees and features food trucks, vendors, family activities, and a kid zone, celebrating plant-powered living.

Looking ahead, she is already planning projects, including creating adoption artwork and profiles to support animals in shelters and helping children use creativity to foster real-world compassion. Stephanie Curson exemplifies how one teacher’s commitment to kindness can inspire a school, influence a community, and help shape a more compassionate future for all.

Thank you, Stephanie, for all that you do for animals!  

Tanya Kitchen 

A Homeschool Educator from Stevensville, MI 

An inspiring homeschool educator from the coast of Lake Michigan, Tanya Kitchen’s dedication exemplifies how compassionate education can thrive wherever children learn — whether at home, in a classroom, or as they explore the world around them. For Tanya, teaching is about more than academic growth; it’s about helping a child understand that kindness is something we practice every day and that everyone, no matter their age or background, has the power to make a difference. Guided by an unwavering sense of care and responsibility for others, shaped by her personal values and faith and by her work as a children’s author sharing animal-friendly stories, Tanya brings a thoughtful, ethical perspective to every aspect of learning. Through consistent, intentional choices, from preparing nutritious, vegan meals to sharing advocacy materials in the community, Tanya ensures that compassion isn’t just taught, it’s lived.

Tanya Thoughtfully Incorporates Kindness In Every Lesson

By seamlessly weaving respect for others into both daily instruction and long-term studies, Tanya nurtures curiosity and critical thinking in a structured yet student-centered way. Creative writing assignments focus on animals her daughter cares deeply about, strengthening her voice while expanding her empathy. Science lessons are also approached through a humane lens, incorporating innovative alternatives such as Kind Frog, an ethically dissectible silicone-based model, alongside Inside Out paper anatomy models and EMind interactive software, all of which allow students to explore biology in ways that emphasize learning without harm. Indeed, every inch of the learning environment reflects these values: storybooks that normalize cruelty are thoughtfully replaced with ones that celebrate respect, and each year a plush class “pet” helps reinforce the idea that animals are living beings, not objects or teaching tools.

When her daughter needed support with reading comprehension, Tanya turned to TeachKind resources. She discovered that rescue stories about real animals and their plights transformed reading into an engaging and purposeful experience. Through these materials, her daughter not only improved her literacy skills but also formed a genuine connection with the individuals she read about, demonstrating that when learning is rooted in kindness, it becomes both more effective and more meaningful.

She Encourages Empathy For Wildlife Near and Far

Tanya’s approach goes far beyond academics, intentionally preparing her daughter to be an animal advocate in the real world. Whether they are on a nature walk, working in the garden, or simply observing the environment, Tanya encourages her daughter to notice other animals, consider their experiences, and speak up on their behalf. Hands-on projects, such as building birdhouses and creating wildlife-friendly spaces, bring these lessons to life and help her see herself as a steward of the Earth. Even difficult moments, such as encountering injured or deceased animals, become opportunities for compassion and action, from seeking help from wildlife rehabilitators to advocating for safer roads in their community.

Tanya demonstrates that teachers, whether in traditional classrooms or homeschool settings, have the power to shape not only what children learn, but how they see the world and their place within it. Perhaps most inspiring is the ripple effect of Tanya’s work. Her homeschooling methodology has sparked curiosity and meaningful change beyond her own family, prompting other parents to explore homeschooling and consider more compassionate lifestyle choices after seeing her work in action.

Through it all, Tanya proves that empathy is not abstract; it is something we practice through our choices, our voices, and our willingness to help. By leading with kindness, curiosity, and purpose, she is helping raise the next generation of compassionate changemakers—and showing others that with the right tools and mindset, anyone teaching children can make a lasting difference for animals, their communities, and the future we all share.

Thank you, Tanya, for all that you do for animals!

Congratulations to Stephanie and Tanya!

Thank you once more to everyone who participated or nominated someone for the contest. Every educator has the power to foster empathy and kindness in their students, just like Tanya and Stephanie do. By showcasing our shared efforts to create a more caring world, we can motivate others to improve how they communicate with and teach the children in their lives. 

Are you ready to gear up for next year’s contest and put yourself in the running for TeachKind’s 2027 Teacher of the Year? We’re here to support you!

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