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The Fishman Prize for Superlative Classroom Practice is awarded annually to a select group of public school teachers who demonstrate exceptionally effective teaching with students from high-poverty communities. No more than five teachers are awarded the prize each year. Each winner is recognized with a $25,000 award and the opportunity to collaborate with other winners during an at-home summer residency that culminates in the publication of a short paper on the practice of effective teaching. The paper allows Fishman Prize winners to share their expertise with educators across the country without taking time away from their classrooms.

This is the first year of the Fishman Prize. In a month and a half, 1,600 teachers registered to apply and more than 400 teachers from 39 states submitted full applications. Fifty semi-finalists were invited to submit teaching videos and letters of reference, and a dozen were selected as finalists, each of whom was observed at work in the classroom by TNTP staff and interviewed by an expert panel of judges.

2012 Winners

The winners will be joining Ms. Fishman in an intense, 6-week summer fellowship where they will engage in the critical challenge of helping more teachers improve their classroom practice and collaborate on a short paper that captures their insights and knowledge of effective teaching.

“These teachers astonished us,” said TNTP President Tim Daly. “They engage their students in dramatically different ways, but they all get amazing results.  It has been so inspiring to spend time with them and to see them at work in their classrooms. We couldn’t imagine a more deserving group of educators to honor with this award.”

2012 Finalists

The selected finalists and winners ultimately demonstrated an extraordinary ability to lead students from all backgrounds to academic excellence, a keen understanding of effective instructional practice and an ability to articulate it clearly, and a passion for teaching and a deep commitment to advancing the teaching profession.

“The quality of the Fishman Prize finalists is extraordinary,” said guest judge and New York State Education Commissioner John B. King, Jr. “These are really impressive, dedicated practitioners who work hard every day to achieve incredible results with their students.  They deserve all the recognition we can offer.” 

To learn more about these extraordinary teachers, check out the finalists' profiles and follow TNTP on Facebook.

A former mechanical engineer, Shira became a teacher through TNTP’s selective DC Teaching Fellows program in 2004. Her knowledge of math and her passion for teaching have inspired and motivated her students ever since. She taught at Hine Junior High School for three years before moving to McKinley in 2007, where she became the Math Department Chairperson.

Rated “Highly Effective” for two years in a row under the district’s rigorous IMPACT evaluation system, Shira proves every day that the challenges for students in high-need schools can be overcome with great teaching. She is the 2011 DCPS Teacher of the Year, and one of about 40 teachers nationwide to honored with a 2011 Milken Educator Award.

Shira hopes the award will recognize more teachers like her. "We need to give great teachers more of an incentive to stick around and become even greater," Shira explained. "I hope that this prize really tells teachers 'you are appreciated,' and that people recognize the difference that you're making in the lives of your kids."