Louisville, Kentucky Teacher ‘Honored’ With National Award

Hui Couch, a 9th-grade Algebra teacher at Newcomer Academy in Louisville, Kentucky, has been given the prestigious Honored National Teaching Award for November 2025. As part of her honor, she received a $5,000 cash award and was featured on Inspiring Teachers: The Honored Podcast.

In a classroom where students speak nine different home languages, Hui cultivates an inspiring environment where every student, no matter their pace or language level, feels empowered and excited to learn. She utilizes the Modern Classrooms Project method to provide self-paced learning to meet students exactly where they are. Her students learn to collaborate across language barriers, building empathy and cultural fluency. In her words, “I truly believe that the diversity of languages in my room is our greatest asset.”

Hui Couch was nominated for the Honored Award by the Modern Classrooms Project. Her students credit Hui with building their confidence and pride in learning. One of her students, Obama, said, “Ms. Couch gave me a shout-out in front of the class and said, ‘I told you you are smart and you can do it.’ I’d never heard encouragement like that before. I feel proud and thankful. Ms. Couch is a good teacher.”

 To hear more about the inspiring impact of Hui Couch’s teaching, listen to her story at https://www.honored.org/honoree/hui-couch/.

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/.