School: Haverford High School
Content Area: AP US History & AP African American Studies
Grade Level: 10-12
Leon Smith
Leon Smith, the 2026 National Teacher of the Year, serves Pennsylvania’s Haverford High School as an Advanced Placement (AP) United States history and AP African American studies teacher, emphasizing critical thinking, civic engagement and creating spaces for students to find their voices and flourish.
Smith has more than two decades of experience as an educator, leader and mentor. He believes students are most successful when their classrooms foster connection. Whether it’s through a morning circle, individualized feedback or engaging lessons, students feel confident to meet high expectations because Smith sees in them what they can’t always see in themselves. Smith teaches students how to think critically. He creates opportunities for his students to contend with complex ideas and big questions with dignity and curiosity. Smith listens to his students. It was listening to them that became a catalyst for bringing the first-ever AP African American studies course to Haverford.
Smith is deliberate in connecting students with community. As part of AP Advocacy Day, Smith takes students to the Pennsylvania State Capitol to interact with AP scholars from all over the state and meet with their local legislators to share the impact of AP courses on their lives. Students engage with policymakers, asking questions and learning the basics of storytelling to build empathy and understanding.
His leadership extends to championing the recruitment and retention of teachers. Not only does he speak passionately about the profession, he created an Educators Rising chapter in his high school so students can begin to see themselves as teachers too. Above all, he carries the belief that “it is a great power to be in education; it’s something we should have a reverence for.”
Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in secondary social studies education from the University of Maryland at College Park, a Master of Education in instructional systems from Pennsylvania State University and a PK–12 principal certification from Cabrini University. He has coached freshman basketball for more than 20 years.
