FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Receives $5,000 cash and podcast feature

Kurk Watson, a K-8 drama teacher at Albert M. Greenfield School, has been given the prestigious Honored National Teaching Award for February 2025. As part of his honor, Watson received a $5,000 cash award and was featured on Inspiring Teachers: The Honored Podcast.

For Kurk, teaching is about creating opportunities for students to explore new things, sparking their curiosity, and helping them discover passions. By encouraging them to step out of their comfort zones, he provides a pathway for students to uncover interests they might not have otherwise realized. His approach to teaching is highlighted by his work as co-founder of the nonprofit organization, OPEX Park. What keeps Kurk going is the creativity he sees in his students. He loves watching them explore their freedom to create, ensuring their sense of responsibility never overshadows their creative expression.

Watson was nominated for the Honored Award by the organization, Summer House Institute. To help share his story, we interviewed Kurk’s student, Nate, and Nate’s parent Erica. Erica shared, “The kids feel like they have a voice with Kurk, which is also, I think, a rarity these days. The kids know that Kurk takes them seriously and he listens to them and he hears them, they know that their opinion matters.”

Read Kurk Watson’s full story at https://www.honored.org/honoree/kurk-watson/.

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.com/Honored.org, twitter.com/honored, https://www.tiktok.com/@honoredteachers, and instagram.com/honored. You can also listen to our podcast at https://honored.podbean.com/.

Honored Press Contact

Hannah Bowyer-Rivette

[email protected]

‪540-315-7052‬