According to The Associated Press, the Council of Chief State School Officers announced last week that Russell, a 50-year-old history teacher and basketball coach at Oberlin High School in Ohio, had won the 2022 title. The selection committee called the 25-year teaching veteran “a powerful advocate who always puts students at the center of his work,” the organization said in an April 19 news release.
Kurt (@kurtsenior_) is a high school history teacher at Oberlin High School in Oberlin, OH and the 2022 National Teacher of the Year!
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden congratulated Russell in an emotional address, saying teachers helped him overcome a childhood stutter, the AP reported.
“I wonder how I got here. I got here because of my parents and my teachers,” Biden said, adding that he learned from his wife, longtime educator and first lady Jill Biden, that teaching is more than a profession.
“Teaching is not what Jill does, it’s who she is, like most of you,” he said.
As @FLOTUS has always reminded me: Teaching isn’t what you do, it’s who you are. This afternoon, we hosted the 2022 National and State Teachers of the Year to thank them for all they do. pic.twitter.com/Y2Iwqi7KRs
“The Teacher of the Year program does an outstanding job of identifying and celebrating Ohio’s incredible educators,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement at the time. “I want to congratulate Mr. Russell on being named Ohio’s Teacher of the Year. All of Ohio’s teachers have shown their dedication and commitment to our students especially during the ongoing pandemic.”
Photos: National Teacher of the Year honored in White House ceremony The 2022 National Teacher of the Year Kurt Russell speaks during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, April 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Photos: National Teacher of the Year honored in White House ceremony President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and 2022 National Teacher of the Year Kurt Russell applaud the 2022 National and State Teachers of the Year during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, April 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Photos: National Teacher of the Year honored in White House ceremony First lady Jill Biden hugs 2022 National Teacher of the Year Kurt Russell as President Joe Biden applauds during the 2022 National and State Teachers of the Year event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, April 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Photos: National Teacher of the Year honored in White House ceremony President Joe Biden shakes hands with 2022 National Teacher of the Year Kurt Russell during the 2022 National and State Teachers of the Year event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, April 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Photos: National Teacher of the Year honored in White House ceremony President Joe Biden speaks during the 2022 National and State Teachers of the Year event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, April 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Photos: National Teacher of the Year honored in White House ceremony President Joe Biden presents 2022 Delaware Teacher of the Year Jahsha Tabron, second from left, with a challenge coin following an event with the Council of Chief State School Officers' 2022 National and State Teachers of the Year in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, April 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Photos: National Teacher of the Year honored in White House ceremony Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., the 2016 National Teacher of the Year, waves during an event honoring the Council of Chief State School Officers' 2022 National and State Teachers of the Year in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, April 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Photos: National Teacher of the Year honored in White House ceremony Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during the 2022 National and State Teachers of the Year event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, April 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Photos: National Teacher of the Year honored in White House ceremony Oberlin High School history teacher Kurt Russell, left, poses, Thursday, April 14, 2022, near the banner in the hallway of Oberlin High School marking his being named Ohio Teacher of the year, in Oberlin, Ohio. On Tuesday, April 19, 2022, the Council of Chief State School Officers, publicly announced that Russell was named the organization's National Teacher of the Year for 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Gillispie)
Photos: National Teacher of the Year honored in White House ceremony Oberlin High School history teacher Kurt Russell, teaches an African-American history class, Thursday, April 14, 2022, in Oberlin, Ohio. The Council of Chief State School Officers on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, publicly announced that Russell is the organization's National Teacher of the Year for 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Gillispie)
Photos: National Teacher of the Year honored in White House ceremony Oberlin High School history teacher Kurt Russell, stands near a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. as he teaches an African-American history class, Thursday, April 14, 2022, in Oberlin, Ohio. The Council of Chief State School Officers on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, publicly announced that Russell is the organization's National Teacher of the Year for 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Gillispie)