Susan Harris-Boring is proud to teach at the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), a federal school system serving military-connected students worldwide. She has taught sixth grade English language arts at Kaiserslautern Middle School on Vogelweh Air Base in Germany for six years. She loves the middle grades, as they are formative years of growth and of developing and practicing skills essential to student success in secondary school and beyond. At the core of her pedagogy is the belief that students must feel as though they belong — in the classroom and within their community — for learning to occur and that social-emotional learning goes hand in hand with traditional academics. She believes in DoDEA’s goal of making students feel welcomed, respected, engaged and empowered.

Originally from Louisiana, Harris-Boring spent more than two decades exploring the world with her active-duty Air Force spouse and daughter. Germany has been home for nine years. Harris-Boring holds a Master of Arts in teaching from the University of Maryland University College and dual bachelor’s degrees in broadcast journalism and film studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

DoDEA’S 2025 State Teacher of the Year, Harris-Boring was also awarded a Public Service Commendation Medal by the United States Department of the Army for her work as a volunteer English teacher with Operation Allies Refuge. She enjoys volunteering alongside National Junior Honor Society members within the Kaiserslautern community, always aiming to inspire and empower students to take charge of their service to others.