Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Chris Gleason, a longtime educator and 2017 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year, was recently honored as a 2022 Horace Mann for Teaching Excellence awardee by The NEA Foundation.
Gleason, an education consultant for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, accepted the award at The NEA Foundation’s Salute to Excellence in Education Gala in Washington, D.C. on May 13, 2022. He was one of five educators from around the nation selected to receive the honor.
“I am humbled by this recognition and grateful to the Wisconsin Education Association Council for the nomination,” Gleason said. “Whatever accolades I receive are a direct result of my family, colleagues, students, and education. I am a proud product of Wisconsin’s public schools and public universities.”
Gleason began his teaching career at East Troy Middle School in 1997. He then succeeded his father at Logan Middle School in La Crosse from 1999 to 2004. He and his wife, Erin, also a music educator, moved to Sun Prairie in 2004 where they have been teaching ever since.
When asked what makes this honor special, Gleason said, “This honor helps to validate the importance of the arts and the work that is being done not only in my classroom, but classrooms across the country. Our success as a nation will come from valuing the beautiful diversity in our young people and finding ways to spark their imaginations. We must resist the urge to narrow the curriculum.”
Educators selected to receive a Horace Mann Award “stand out for their leadership inside and out of the classroom - demonstrating expertise in their practice, advocating for their students and the profession, manifesting a commitment to equity and diversity, engaging their communities, and supporting other educators in the learning process.”
Learn more about the award on The NEA Foundation’s website.