U.S. Teacher Awards
Our partnership with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) recognizes the nation’s most dynamic and resourceful teachers who use their creativity to inspire and successfully instill a lifelong love of reading in students.
2025 Winners Announced
The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Penguin Random House, and the Anne Frank Fonds, which is responsible for the publication of Anne Frank’s seminal work The Diary of a Young Girl, announced the Anne Frank Award for Teaching Memoir, giving English language arts educators from middle to postsecondary levels the opportunity to apply for funding to advance the teaching of memoir and support student writing in the classroom.
Through the new awards program, ten English teachers will receive a $1,000 grant to teach memoir across language arts education—especially texts focused on children’s voices and experiences during times of war, such as The Diary of a Young Girl.
Teachers spanning middle, secondary, and community college classroom settings are eligible to apply. The program will emphasize:
- The importance of reading entire texts and of student writing and creation in ELA contexts.
- The role of memoir in ELA contexts and, through collaborations, across disciplines.
- The value of nonfiction and its expansion in ELA settings.
Grant recipients will be selected by a panel comprising teachers appointed by NCTE and a representative from the Anne Frank Fonds and Penguin Random House Education.
Teachers can apply for a grant through August 1. Winners will be announced in September.
2025 Winners Announced
Our Teacher Award Winners
COMFORT AGBOOLA
Anne Frank Award for Teaching Memoir
$1,000 Grant Recipient
Middle School English Language Arts Teacher
Chicago, IL
VIVETT HEMANS DUKES
Anne Frank Award for Teaching Memoir
$1,000 Grant Recipient
Eighth Grade English Language Arts Teacher
New York, NY
KAYLA ICHIKAWA
Anne Frank Award for Teaching Memoir
$1,000 Grant Recipient
Tenth Grade English Teacher
Kingston, NY
PATRICK MARTIN
Anne Frank Award for Teaching Memoir
$1,000 Grant Recipient
High School English Teacher
Charleston, SC
MACKENZIE MILLER
Anne Frank Award for Teaching Memoir
$1,000 Grant Recipient
Ninth Grade English Teacher
West Lawn, PA
DR. JON MUNDORF
Anne Frank Award for Teaching Memoir
$1,000 Grant Recipient
Middle School Creative Writing Teacher
Gainesville, FL
RHEA RAMAKRISHNAN
Anne Frank Award for Teaching Memoir
$1,000 Grant Recipient
High School World Literature and Creative Writing Teacher
Baltimore, MA
AMEER SOHRAWARDY
Anne Frank Award for Teaching Memoir
$1,000 Grant Recipient
College Lecturer in English
Tom's River, NJ
ANNA SUPPE
Anne Frank Award for Teaching Memoir
$1,000 Grant Recipient
Seventh Grade English Language Arts Teacher
Colorado Springs, CO
CHRISTINA YANUARIA
Anne Frank Award for Teaching Memoir
$1,000 Grant Recipient
Professor of English as a Second Language
Sacramento, CA
RICK COPPOLA
Maya Angelou Teacher Award for Poetry
$10,000 Grant Recipient
Seventh Grade Language Arts Teacher
SOUTH LOOP ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Chicago, IL
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