Celebrating Our 2024 Second Step® Educators of the Year

As the 2024–25 school year comes to a close, we want to celebrate the five extraordinary educators who were named the 2024 Second Step® Educators of the Year. Among thousands of Second Step educators, these individuals stood out as exceptional innovators who are sparking positive change in the lives of their students. Learn how their dedication to their students and human skills instruction is making an impact in their classrooms, school, and communities.

Natali Jones—Site Coordinator and Elementary School Counselor

Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Natali is recognized for her commitment to bridging language and cultures through Second Step® Elementary. Natali is a counselor with Project GRAD, working in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District in Alaska. Her district serves nearly 8,000 students across 42 schools and 25,600 miles. Students represent multiple languages and distinct cultures within Alaska’s native communities. Natali wanted to make sure Second Step programs would truly build connection and a sense of belonging for every student. So, she collaborated with community elders and civic leaders to translate schoolwide initiatives into students’ Alaska Native languages. She also displayed images of people in the local community in the classrooms. Now throughout daily learning, they see faces that look like theirs and hear the words spoken at home. This representation lets them know their cultural identity is recognized and valued at school.

Joy Hopkins (Principal) and Megan Palka (Social Worker)

Farragut Elementary, Illinois

When Joy Hopkins was asked to be the principal of Farragut Elementary, she agreed—but only if she could bring along social worker Megan Palka, too. Farragut was underperforming academically and had significant behavioral challenges. This dream team knew human skills would be essential in turning their school around. Working together, they launched Second Step Elementary and set to work. Their efforts, along with teacher commitment and student engagement, paid off. Farragut is now the district’s top performer academically, and the behavioral issues and transfers have nearly disappeared.

Rebecca Keithley—Social Emotional Center Facilitator

Coweeman Middle School, Washington

Rebecca Keithley believes relationships are crucial components of supportive classroom environments. Tapping into insights from her own childhood experiences, lessons from military service, and nearly a decade as an educator, Rebecca leads with compassion and empathy. To understand and meet student needs, she designed a student life skills self-perception survey for each middle schooler to complete, which also requests their feedback on how she delivered Second Step® Middle School lessons. Rebecca uses student responses—along with academic and attendance data and feedback from teachers—to identify the human skills students need most. The top skills Rebecca says students need help mastering? Self-regulation and empathy—skills and knowledge she’s happy to share.

Nicci Turner—Kindergarten Teacher

Jessamine Early Learning Village, Kentucky

Jessamine Early Learning Village has 23 separate kindergarten classrooms. But Nicci Turner’s innovative teaching efforts and experience with human skills instruction set her apart from her colleagues. Prior to becoming a teacher, Nicci conducted research on Second Step programs. She understood the power of human skills interventions on academics and student achievement. Once she joined Jessamine, she was determined to bring human skills instruction to her students. Second Step programs had such a remarkable impact on students in her classroom that her principal quickly expanded the program schoolwide. Now Nicci mentors her colleagues in implementing a districtwide rollout.

District Innovator Award Winner: Liz Doncaster

Director of Student Services for Somerville Public Schools, Massachusetts

Liz Doncaster is the first recipient of our District Innovator Award. Liz leads with deep empathy and dedication, helping all the students in her district feel a sense of belonging and community. She knows how strengthening human skills can benefit students, especially those who are already struggling. As a child, Liz struggled with undiagnosed ADD and dyslexia before schools were teaching human skill-building programs. Without understanding her feelings or learning skills to manage them, she often felt lost and misunderstood. Now it’s her mission to empower each student with the skills and confidence to manage their feelings and make friends so that everyone can feel they belong and a part of their school community.

Watch our 2024 Second Step Educator of the Year Awards Showcase on our YouTube channel.
Learn more about the Second Step family of programs.
Subscribe to get Second Step Insights in your inbox.