National Teacher of the Year leads Sen. Hughes ceremony honoring youth

National Teacher of the Year leads Sen. Hughes ceremony honoring youth

National Teacher of the Year Leon Smith headlined state Sen. Vincent Hughes’ Men Making a Difference ceremony, where nearly 100 young men and community leaders were honored for leadership, mentorship and service.

PA educator named 2026 National Teacher of the Year

By Danielle Smith By Anna Gustafson for the Pennsylvania Independent. Broadcast version by Danielle Smith for Keystone State News Connection reporting for the Pennsylvania Independent-Public News Service Collaboration Leon Smith, a Haverford High School educator and the newly named National Teacher of the Year, was in 10th grade when he had a Black teacher for the first time. It was then, as a teenager, that the Upper Dublin native first saw him…