The whirlwind adventures of the 2026 Ohio Teacher of the Year

About this episode

Chris Monsour, the Ohio Teacher of the Year, shares his experiences and lessons learned during his term representing public school educators.

Tiffin Columbian High School teacher Chris Monsour is the first person to tell you he never thought he'd be a teacher. Now, 27 years later, he's the Ohio Teacher of the Year. In that role, he has spent the 2025-2026 school year traveling around the state and the country, representing Ohio's public school educators, lifting up the positive stories about the power of our public schools, and sharing his message about the importance of staying the course. He joins us for this episode to catch us up on some of the many things he has done and lessons he has learned during his Ohio Teacher of the Year term so far. STAY THE COURSE | Click here to watch a recent Ohio School Spotlight video with Chris Monsour sharing his story of perseverance and dedication as he continues to push his students and fellow educators to “stay the course” and reach their full potential. Click here to check out other features in OEA's Ohio School Spotlight video library. STRONG UNIONS MAKE STRONG PUBLIC SCHOOLS | As part of OEA's ongoing statewide media campaign, Chris highlighted how his local association, the Tiffin Education Association, has been able to keep class sizes managable so they can individualize…

People in this episode

Guest: Chris Monsour

Topics covered

• education
• teacher recognition
• public schools
• advocacy
• class size management

Keywords

• Ohio Teacher of the Year
• Chris Monsour
• public education
• Tiffin Columbian High School
• teacher advocacy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Tiffin Education Association, Ohio Education Association

Places: Ohio

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