GLOCESTER – The Nationwide Training Affiliation Rhode Island has introduced that Ponaganset Excessive College educator Lisa Tvenstrup would be the recipient of the 2026 NEARI Educating Excellence Award. The distinction acknowledges her excellent contributions to instructing and unwavering advocacy for public schooling, in keeping with a launch from NEARI.
A Johnston resident, Tvenstrup has devoted her 40-year profession to PHS, the place she has impressed generations of scholars by way of a various array of historical past and social research programs, together with East Asian Historical past, World Cultures, Psychology, and Genocide.
“There’s something truly special about guiding students through learning – not just filling their minds with facts but helping them make meaningful connections to their own lives,” said Tvenstrup. “Seeing that spark when a lesson resonates, and later hearing from graduates who still carry those insights, is incredibly fulfilling.”
Tvenstrup notes that each course she teaches is designed to impact students on a personal level. In Psychology, students explore self-awareness; in Sociology, they gain tools to navigate relationships. Her World Cultures and East Asian History courses foster global empathy, underscoring the idea that “we are more alike than different.” In her Genocide studies course, students confront the haunting lesson of “never again,” learning that the intent behind genocide can be more devastating than war.
“Lisa is an open and receptive educator who thrives on collaboration with colleagues and students to make the learning process poignant,” said Elizabeth Reichardt, a Ponaganset literacy specialist and longtime colleague who traveled with Tvenstrup to Jihan, China, as part of a global education initiative. “She puts student learning at the forefront of every interaction and every pedagogical decision.”
A passionate advocate for public education, Tvenstrup has served on numerous school and district committees, acted as a class advisor and leadership team leader, and mentored aspiring teachers as a critic teacher at Rhode Island College. She sees schools as a second home and has spent decades enriching the Foster-Glocester Regional School District with her time, energy, and commitment, according to the awards notice.
“Early in my career, I realized NEARI was there to protect, guide, and support teachers so they could focus on one another and on our students,” said Tvenstrup.
Her dedication also extends to union advocacy, where she has served in multiple local and state positions.
“Whether as an elected officer of the local union, a bargaining or grievance committee member, or as a rank-and-file member, Lisa’s commitment to her union siblings is without parallel,” said RI AFL-CIO President Patrick Crowley, who provided a letter of support for Tvenstrup’s nomination.
“Lisa is an invaluable member of NEA Ponaganset,” added NEA Ponaganset President Mary Kaeble. “Her thoughtful perspective and dedication ensure every voice is heard.”
Tvenstrup highlights her volunteer work with the NEARI Children’s Fund as among the many most significant experiences of her profession. The NEARI Youngsters’s Fund is a charitable group that gives emergency help to public faculty college students whose households are struggling to fulfill fundamental wants, which so usually stands in the best way of studying.
For a few years, Tvenstrup coordinated scholar volunteers at PHS to take part within the fund’s Gingerbread Specific, a vacation gift-giving program that matches sponsors with public faculty kids in want. On the D’Abate Elementary College in Windfall – the place the overwhelming majority of scholars come from low-income households – each youngster was included within the celebration. Tvenstrup and her college students joined different volunteers and traveled to the varsity to distribute items to each scholar, making certain no youngster was unnoticed of the vacation pleasure.
“By the Gingerbread Specific, I used to be in a position to join my Ponaganset college students with kids within the neighborhood the place I grew up,” stated Tvenstrup. “The expertise deepened their understanding of neighborhood and bolstered the concept that regardless of the place we reside or what our circumstances, we’re extra alike than completely different.”
“Even at this time, former college students who participated nonetheless attain out, keen to assist once more,” she added. “It’s a robust reminder of the position educators – and our unions – play in constructing compassionate, socially accountable residents.”
As a part of the distinguished honor, Tvenstrup will journey to Washington, D.C., in February 2026 to be acknowledged on the NEA Basis’s Salute to Excellence in Training Gala, alongside educators from throughout the nation.
Candidates for the NEARI Educating Excellence Award are evaluated on their skilled follow, advocacy for schooling, dedication to range, fairness, inclusion, and justice, neighborhood and household engagement, and management in skilled growth. Tvenstrup was chosen from a aggressive pool by a committee of NEARI officers and members.
