One Good Thing: Rebecka Peterson’s Address to the Nation

CCSSO’s National Teacher of the Year Program works to elevate the voices of excellent educators across the country. Every National Teacher of the Year uses their year of recognition and service to highlight a particular issue important to their school, students and personal story in education. Rebecka Peterson, the 2023 National Teacher of the Year, will use her platform to highlight teachers’ stories of the good that’s happening in education. Amid a difficult first year of high school teaching, Rebecka found the One Good Thing blog. She credits daily posting there to helping her recognize the beautiful and positive experiences occurring in her classroom, which inspired her to stay in the profession. Teaching is a profession that affords creativity, autonomy and purpose, and Rebecka believes that highlighting the stories of joy happening in classrooms across the country will help encourage current teachers and attract new educators to the profession. “ ‘Bearer of good news’ — the meaning of my Iranian name — is the phrase I’ve spent my career leaning into,” Rebecka says in her Address to the Nation. “Just like my own teachers, my fellow State Teachers of the Year and the millions of other teachers in this country, I want to bring the good news of joy and hope to my students, to reciprocate the gift of education that I was given by my teachers.” Over the next year and beyond, Rebecka will have a chance to spread this message through speaking engagements, school visits, media appearances and discussions with policymakers across the country. The Council of Chief State School Officers’ National Teacher of the Year Program is honored to share Rebecka Peterson’s Address to the Nation. Please join us in sharing her message by watching and sharing this video.