LOS ANGELES, Sept. 9, 2024 – Teachers from Alaska, Maryland and New Jersey are the recipients of the 2024 American Civic Education Teacher Awards, recognizing their exemplary work preparing young people to become informed and engaged citizens. The ACETA winners are Lem Wheeles (Alaska), Christian Pensiero (Md.), and Lauren Hallgring (N.J.).

The awards are given to teachers of civics, government and related subjects who have demonstrated exceptional expertise, dynamism and creativity in motivating students to learn about the Constitution, U.S. government at the federal, state and local levels, and public policy.

ACETA is sponsored by the Center for Civic Education, the Center on Representative Government at Indiana University, and the National Education Association.

Dr. Donna Phillips, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Civic Education, praised Wheeles, Hallgring and Pensiero for their dedication to helping young people learn the information and skills necessary to participate as effective and responsible citizens. “These teachers represent civic education at its best. Their dedication to ensuring that each succeeding generation understands the principles and values of our representative democracy benefits not only their students, but our entire nation,” Phillips said.

The three awardees share a passion for explaining democracy and citizenship in an engaging way and helping young people see that local, state and federal government is relevant to their lives.

“Every student has a voice; my mission as an educator is to teach students to use their voices for the benefit of their community and our democracy,” wrote high school teacher Lem Wheeles in his self-portrait essay. “One of the most important lessons that I teach my students is that government is made up of people just like them.” Wheeles earned a master’s degree in teaching from the University of Alaska Anchorage. He has been teaching for 20 years.

Pensiero teaches at an elementary school where students speak over a dozen different languages and come from many walks of life, including those who are multilingual learners and first- or second-generation immigrants. “Their diverse backgrounds converge in my classroom to learn the essence of American democracy,” she wrote in her self-portrait. “I foster an environment where they understand that words and actions, protected by our fundamental rights, can enact profound change.” Pensiero earned her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from McDaniel College. She has been teaching for 13 years.

In her self-portrait, middle school teacher Lauren Hallgring wrote, “I promote civic engagement through exploration of local, state, and national political campaigns. Students research candidates and are educated on current political stances. I emphasize non-partisan strategies to help students formulate their own political opinions.” Hallgring collaborates with organizations like the League of Women Voters to make civics relatable and accessible. She earned a master’s degree in history from Monmouth University. Hallgring has been teaching for 14 years.

The ACETA program selects and showcases three teachers whose students represent the diversity of the American public- and private-school systems. Applicants must be full-time classroom teachers of grades K–12. There is no fee to apply. Applicants must submit a two-page self-portrait essay, their resume, and two letters of recommendation—one from a teaching peer and one from their school principal.

The Center for Civic Education (www.civiced.org) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization dedicated to fostering the development of informed, responsible participation in civic life by citizens committed to values and principles fundamental to American constitutional democracy.

The Center on Representative Government (corg.iu.edu) is a nonpartisan educational institution that believes our nation’s great experiment of representative democracy has served us well for more than 200 years, but it fundamentally rests on an informed electorate that understands our system of government and participates in our civic life.

The National Education Association (www.nea.org) is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.