English teacher Tadd Scott plays the drum as teachers and SFUSD staff join a city-wide protest to demand a fair contract while at Mission High School in San Francisco on Feb. 9, 2026.
Teachers utilize a team-teaching model that spreads out teacher expertise and facilitates collaboration at Stevenson Elementary School in Mesa, Ariz., on Jan 30, 2025. Some of those models depend on having coaches and interventionists—positions that risk getting cut during lean budget times.
Ninth grade teacher Tracy Byrd helps a student with her final essay on the last day of the semester at Washburn High School in Minneapolis on Jan. 22, 2026. Bryd, the 2025 Minnesota Teacher of the Year, has leaned on his network of state teachers of the year for support amid the challenges of increased immigration enforcement in the state.