Colorado teacher gets a big surprise: she's being inducted into the National Teacher Hall of Fame
CBS News recently gave some good news to a special group of teachers across the country. For a segment on "CBS Mornings," contributor David Begnaud visited five teachers in five different states to tell them that they were inducted into the National Teacher Hall of Fame, including one in Colorado.
Denver-area teacher Michelle Pearson has spent 31 years sharing her love of learning with students. Her principal at Century Middle School in Thornton says she's often the first person to arrive at school and the last one to leave.
Pearson also has a passion for getting outside the classroom. She has taken students to national parks and monuments, including Colorado National Monument on the Western Slope and the Statue of Liberty National Monument in New York. She has had them work with legislators to help craft the Great American Outdoors Act, which helped to fund public lands.
Begnaud interrupted Pearson's social studies class to break the news to her that she is a 2025 National Teacher Hall of Fame inductee. It was a very big, happy surprise for Pearson.
At a subsequent assembly where Begnaud broke the news to the entire school, the student body was amped up and eager to celebrate their teacher. Pearson credited everyone she works with and all of her students for the honor.
"All I'm going to say is, I'm not here because of me, I'm here because of you guys and because of your teachers," she said. "You only reach excellence because of those you lift up."
This week Pearson was flown to New York City for an in-studio appearance this week on "CBS Mornings" along with the other inductees. They were surprised once again as it was announced that as part of the honors, each of the teachers will be given $20,000 by Canva, and their schools each also get $20,000.
Maddie Fennell, executive director of the National Teachers Hall of Fame, said Pearson and the four other teachers who are being inducted this year "embody excellence, compassion and commitment to students."
"We are thrilled to partner with CBS to shine a well-deserved national spotlight on the people shaping the future of our country," Fennell said in a prepared statement.
Pearson will be inducted in a ceremony in Kansas on June 20. The National Teachers Hall of Fame is located in Emporia and the ceremony will take place at Emporia State University.
Only one other Colorado teacher is in the National Teachers Hall of Fame. Marjorie West from Lakewood was inducted in 1995. She was the "first blind teacher in Colorado to be allowed to continue to teach in the regular classroom with a guide dog, "Rush," and full-time aide," according to the NTHF website.
Century Middle School is part of Adams 12 Five Star Schools.
