FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Receives $5,000 cash and podcast feature

Luis Durán, a 6th-8th-grade special education cluster class teacher at Talcott Fine Arts & Museum Academy in Chicago, Illinois, has been given the prestigious Honored National Teaching Award for December 2025. As part of his honor, he received a $5,000 cash award and was featured on Inspiring Teachers: The Honored Podcast.

Luis’s teaching is rooted in creating an inclusive environment. Working with students of varying abilities, he takes the time to learn about their individuality and encourages awareness within the school to approach differences with curiosity. Whether he is decorating for awareness months, telling stories that honor different identities, or sharing resources for the school community to learn, he cultivates an environment where every student feels accepted and valued. In his words, “For anything that some people carry as part of their identities, I think we should raise awareness for it. I feel like that is one step closer to having everyone feel like they are not othered.”

Luis Durán was nominated for the Honored Award by his student, Kenny, and Kenny’s mother, Kimberlee. About her son’s growth, Kimberlee said, “When Kenny got into Mr. Durán’s class, I watched the ship just slowly start to turn around. I watched his confidence start to come back.” As a parent of a son with Down Syndrome, Kimberlee is forever grateful that Luis Durán “walks as a leader who is inclusive and kind.”  

To hear more about the inspiring impact of Luis Durán’s teaching, listen to his story at https://www.honored.org/honoree/luis-duran/.

Honored is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to keeping great teachers in the classroom and inspiring a new generation of talent to pursue teaching. Each month of the school year, Honored shines a spotlight on a teacher who has changed the life of a single student. The Honoree receives a $5,000 cash award, and Honored shares their story on their podcast and social media. Honorees are selected from Pre-K-12 teachers of all subjects at public, private, and charter schools across the country.

For more information about Honored, visit honored.org. To nominate a teacher, visit honored.org/nominate. For regular updates on Honored and our monthly Honorees, follow and like us on Facebook, X, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Instagram. You can also listen to our podcast at https://honored.podbean.com/.

Honored Press Contact

Hannah Bowyer-Rivette

[email protected]

540-315-7052‬