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Lewiston third-grade teacher Heidi Cornell named 2025 Idaho Teacher of the Year; highlights professional learning communities and student-centered work
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Summary
Debbie Critchfield introduced Heidi Cornell, a third-grade teacher from Orchards Elementary in Lewiston, as Idaho’s 2025 Teacher of the Year. Cornell described her classroom mission, professional learning community work, and partnerships that support student leadership and college pipelines.
BOISE — Debbie Critchfield, Idaho’s state superintendent of public instruction, introduced Heidi Cornell as Idaho’s 2025 Teacher of the Year during the Senate Education Committee meeting. Cornell, a third-grade teacher at Orchards Elementary in Lewiston, described classroom practices and schoolwide professional learning community work she credited with improving student outcomes.
Cornell said her personal mission is that "you feel deeply loved when you are with me," and she explained how that commitment underpins her work with students who are "easy to love, the unlovable, and the ones who disagree with me." She told the committee the Lewiston School District adopted professional learning communities (PLCs) districtwide and selected school-level PLC leads to help teams define learning targets, write common formative assessments and align interventions and enrichment to student needs.
Why it matters: Cornell and Superintendent Critchfield framed the recognition as an opportunity to spotlight classroom leadership and the role of PLCs in achieving the board’s goal that Idaho children read at grade level by third grade. Cornell said the PLC work enabled staff to know "where every student is at and what every student needs," making collaboration more effective.
Classroom and school examples: Cornell described a "Coins for a Cause" unit where third graders research local nonprofits and write persuasive speeches to advocate for donations. She also said her classroom invites parents to speak about careers and trades and that the school partners with Lewis-Clark State College and the University of Idaho to host interns in her classroom.
Cornell returned to the classroom after serving as a PLC lead, and she told lawmakers her school devotes about an hour and a half weekly for PLC work. "When I think of resources, I think of money, time, and people," she told the committee, saying time for collaboration is as important as financial support.
Committee comments: Senators congratulated Cornell and praised the focus on leadership and student-centered culture. Cornell said teacher leadership can grow instruction without forcing teachers into administration and expressed support for incentives that recognize teacher-leader roles.
What was not decided: The committee recognized Cornell and heard her remarks; no committee action or funding decisions followed her appearance.
