How Smith Builds Curious, Confident Thinkers
Leon Smith—the 2026 National Teacher of the Year—teaching starts with curiosity, a question, and a closer look at the evidence. For him, it’s an opportunity for students to learn the importance of critical thinking.
Whether he is teaching history or coaching basketball, Smith helps young people learn to think for themselves. And his commitment to students is what makes him an extraordinary teacher.
“I want them to pursue their own curiosity,” said Smith. “That leads to critical thinking. We want our students to ask the questions. To be the detective. To be curious.
“It’s not up to me to tell them what to think.”
Why Leon Smith is the Nation’s Best Teacher
He is kind, charismatic and always smiling. In Smith’s classroom, that means helping students find resources, examine sources and question their reliability. What does a source tell them? What evidence supports a conclusion? He knows the questions matter as much as the answers.
Those habits have a place beyond history class, too. A news story, a social media post or a claim shared by a friend can invite the same closer look. For families, everyday conversations about what children read and hear offer opportunities to encourage that curiosity.
Smith was named National Teacher of the Year in April 2026 by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). For over 70 years, CCSSO’s National Teacher of the Year Program has honored exemplary teachers from every state and territory, D.C. and the Department of Defense Education Activity. A 17-member selection committee, including National PTA past president Yvonne Johnson, chooses the national honoree from the State Teachers of the Year.
He is a 20-year classroom veteran who teaches Advanced Placement (AP) United States history and AP African American studies at Haverford High School in Havertown, Penn. He also coaches the freshman boys’ basketball team.
A Steward for Learning
Over his over two decades in the classroom, he says he has “become more intentional” in his teaching approach.
“I’ve enjoyed my time spent with students,” he said. “Over the last 8-10 years, I’ve homed in on critical thinking. In AP US History, that means argumentative critical thinking. We look at reliability of sources, having the students answer, ‘what do the sources tell me?’
“And looking at the role of a teacher. We are stewards for learning.”
Smith has used his teacher of the year platform this year to discuss inclusion, critical thinking, and civic engagement. He has used this opportunity to elevate the profession he loves and honor those who came before him in classroom. His teaching approach honors those, too.
But it’s a process. A process that takes time for his students to appreciate and embrace. Ultimately, he enjoys seeing their growth from the first day they enter his classroom to the last day of school.
A Coach and a Historian
Smith brings that same attention to growth to the basketball court. Students apprehensive about a new subject and players nervous about a new season face a similar challenge: stepping into something unfamiliar. In both settings, he helps them learn how to deal with adversity and how to be good people—while learning throughout the process.
For Smith, a classroom culture that is encouraging and positive is part of that work. He wants students to feel safe and valued, connected and respected. Feeling comfortable enough to ask a question or offer a different perspective gives students room to participate in their own learning.
His interest in history also brings the value of education into focus. A history teacher by profession and a historian at heart, Smith is especially drawn to Reconstruction—the years after the Civil War. The years of great change, when formerly enslaved Black Americans were building new lives, gaining political power and creating opportunities that had been denied to them for generations.
Opportunities like access to education, books and reading. Smith says, “Reading is a real sign of freedom. That is not lost on me. That story is central to many people’s fabric and tapestry, a part of many people’s story.”
Placed alongside his emphasis on curiosity, that reflection gives readers another way to consider the purpose of education: access to learning and the ability to use it. Reading opens a door; asking questions helps students explore what lies beyond it.
The Teacher Students Seek Out
The importance of access has a personal dimension in his school, too. For many years, Smith said, he was the only Black male teacher there. Boys and young men sought him out in the hallways. They called him a Big Brother.
Some did not even know what subject he taught. They knew he looked like them. That recognition opened the door to a connection that did not depend on being enrolled in his class.
“I learned early on that there are different types of teachers,” he said. “I had students who would come visit me every day. [The] students seek you out. They see something in you, that you are more than just a conveyor of content. Just being there. Some may not have even known what I taught.”
Smith made time and made space. He has fostered a culturally, responsive teaching approach to get the most from his students in the classroom and in the halls. His account gives the idea of representation a familiar, everyday form: a teacher students can approach, someone whose presence invites them to connect. It also offers a reminder to families that the relationships children build at school can reach beyond the subjects on their schedules.
Students at the Center
Being a parent has added another perspective to his work. “I’ve learned the idea of grace and what life looks like on this end (as a parent),” he said. “I encourage parents to show up and make sure their students show. That’s one thing that can impact their ability to perform in class.”
His message brings student attendance and family engagement into the same conversation. He wants parents, guardians and families to show they care, make clear that education matters in their homes and partner with teachers to help students succeed.
For families, that partnership can take different forms. Asking a child about something they learned, sharing a concern with a teacher or finding out what support a student needs are ways to stay connected. He encourages parents to ask students about something funny that happened at school to help break the ice and get students to talk. A parent does not have to be at every school event to make education a priority at home. And he said parents can tell their children about their day and then ease into the school conversations.
“It’s really a team, a collaborative relationship,” he said about families and teachers. “It’s so important to continue to work together to make sure students are at the center of what we do together.”
