Horace Mann honors nation’s top educators

Kimberly Johnson, Harlee Harvey, Horace Mann CFO Bret Conklin, NEA Foundation President & CEO Sara Sneed, NEA President Becky Pringle, Horace Mann National Business Solutions Executive Kelly Ruwe, Louise Smith, Carol Pierobon Hofer, Seth Brady at the 2024 NEA Foundation Salute to Education.

May 8, 2024

Kimberly Johnson is a change agent. As an interventionist and study skills teacher at Auburn Junior High School in Auburn, Alabama, Johnson reminds her students to always be their best selves.

“I came into the field because I love reading and writing. And I love working with kids, but I have to take that and figure out how that’s going to help someone’s life,” said Johnson.

This month, Johnson was awarded the NEA Foundation Member Benefits Award, one of the nation’s top honors for public educators. She and four other educators were honored with Horace Mann Awards for Teaching Excellence at the NEA Foundation’s Salute to Education Gala. The awards are sponsored by the Horace Mann Educators Foundation, which aims to recognize the dedication of the nation’s educators to helping every student reach their full potential.

Johnson said she tries to instill in her students the importance of education, “We all get a free and appropriate education and I need to make sure they understand the value of that.&rdquo

Other Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence winners included: Seth Brady, a social studies educator at Naperville Central High School in Naperville, Ill.; Harlee Harvey, a K-8 educator at Tikiġaq School in Point Hope, Alaska; Carol Pierobon Hofer, an English as a New Language educator at Fox Hill Elementary School in Indianapolis, Ind.; and Louise Smith, a band director at Gautier Middle School, Miss.