Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year Program

Nominations are open year round for the Massachusetts and National History Teacher of the Year programs to honor outstanding teachers of American history across the country. The Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year will automatically be the state's candidate for the National History Teacher of the Year award. The award is sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (GLI).

We are seeking outstanding K–12 teachers who find creative ways to bring history alive in the classroom and in communities.

Teachers will be selected based on the following:

• At least three years of classroom experience;
• A demonstrated commitment to teaching American history;
• Evidence of creativity and innovation in the classroom; and
• Effective use of documents, artifacts, historic sites, oral histories, and other primary resources to engage students in American history.
• Self nominations are not accepted.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History will honor each statewide winner with an award of $1,000, a certificate of recognition, an invitation to attend a Gilder Lehrman Teacher Seminar, and the opportunity for the winner's school to become a GLI Affiliate School. The Institute will also present the winner's school with a collection of American history classroom resources, given in honor of the state winner, for use in the school library or resource center.

To nominate a teacher and learn more about the award, visit the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History's website or contact the National History Teacher of the Year coordinator at nhtoy@gilderlehrman.org or 646-366-9666. You may also email the educator recognition mailbox at educatorrecognition@doe.mass.edu for more information.

2023 Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year

An award-winning teacher and author, Jessica Lander has, for more than a decade, worked with students in middle school, high school, and university in the U.S., Thailand, and Cambodia. Since 2015, she has taught history and civics to immigrants and refugee students from more than 30 countries at Lowell High School.

She encourages her students to be leaders and teachers in the community, including by writing and publishing books that share their voice, history, and ideas, and by collaborating with local leaders on civics projects. In 2019, Jessica and her former students launched the national We Are America Project, working with teachers across the country to support students in writing, publishing, and sharing stories of self.

Jessica is the author of Making Americans: Stories of Historic Struggles, New Ideas, and Inspiration in Immigrant Education, a coauthor of Powerful Partnerships: A Teacher's Guide to Engaging Families for Student Success, and the author of Driving Backwards. She writes frequently about education policy and teaching. Jessica was a Re-Imagining Migration fellow and a 2019-20 Emerson Collective Fellow. She has won numerous awards for her teaching, including being named a Top 50 Finalist for the Global Teacher Prize in 2021 by the Varkey Foundation and being named a 2023 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year Finalist.

2023 Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year Finalists

Rachel Williams-Giordano, Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, Cambridge Public Schools

Jennifer Staysniak, Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School

Former Massachusetts History Teachers of the Year

Last Updated: August 22, 2023