Lewiston third-grade teacher Heidi Cornell named Idaho Teacher of the Year; emphasizes relationships, PLCs
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Summary
Heidi Cornell, a third-grade teacher at Orchards Elementary in Lewiston, was introduced to the Senate Education Committee as Idaho's 2025 Teacher of the Year; she described her school’s professional learning community work and urged support for time and resources for teachers.
The Senate Education Committee heard from Heidi Cornell, a third-grade teacher at Orchards Elementary School in the Lewiston School District, who was introduced as Idaho’s 2025 Teacher of the Year.
Introduced by State Superintendent Debbie Critchfield, Cornell described her teaching mission as ensuring "you feel deeply loved when you are with me," and said that belief shapes how she leads students and colleagues. Cornell said her school adopted a professional learning community (PLC) model and that the work of defining essential learning, writing common assessments and using data to target interventions has improved student outcomes.
Cornell said she accepted a district role as a PLC lead after completing a master's degree, then later returned to the classroom; she credited a districtwide push to become a PLC with helping staff focus on student learning targets and on collaboration. She said the school mission—"we work interdependently to empower all to be lifelong learners and leaders"—emerged from that work.
She described specific classroom practices aimed at connecting students to community and to career experiences. Examples included a "coins for our cause" persuasive-writing unit in which students research and advocate for local nonprofits, a program in which parents visit to discuss occupations and skills, and partnerships that bring interns from Lewis-Clark State College and the University of Idaho into the classroom.
Cornell told senators that teachers need three principal resources: money, time and people. When asked by committee members, she said PLC meetings at her school are scheduled weekly for about an hour and a half.
Superintendent Critchfield said Cornell will represent Idaho on the national stage and noted that Lewiston Superintendent Lance Hanson was also honored as Idaho Superintendent of the Year.
Why it matters: Committee members were presented with a classroom-level account of professional learning systems and teacher leadership, along with a request for continued support of time and resources that school leaders say are required to sustain instructional improvement.
