TEMPLE, Texas — Kennedy-Powell Elementary School kindergarten teacher JoMeka Gray is one of just five public school educators from across the country who will be recognized with one of the highest honors in public education, the Horace Mann Awards for Teaching Excellence. The Horace Mann Awards for Teaching Excellence are presented annually by the NEA Foundation.
The Horace Mann awardees are selected by an expert panel and evaluated based on excellence in the classroom, dedication to increasing opportunities for all students, engagement with families and communities, commitment to professional development, and advocacy for the teaching profession.
Gray is the only elementary teacher among the five award winners, and she joins high school teachers from Colorado, Washington, and South Carolina, and a middle school teacher from Idaho on the list. Gray was nominated for the award by the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA) after she was selected as that organization’s Ermalee Boice Instructional Advocacy Award winner earlier this year.
“I really feel like public schools are the heart of our community because we are the ones training these students as they move on to become doctors, or principals, or whatever they want to be, one day,” Gray said. “I am so thankful that the families I have had can see the work that I do and know that I am going to partner with them and their student. There are so many teachers out there that are doing absolutely amazing things, so for me to be one of the five winners, I find that to be incredibly humbling. I can’t wait to hear the stories of the other winners and learn about some of the things they are doing in their communities to push their students to be their best.”
Gray has been in education for 13 years and has taught kindergarten and first grade at Kennedy-Powell and several other Temple ISD campuses for nine years. She was the 2025 Region 12 Elementary School Teacher of the Year and was one of three elementary school finalists for 2025 Texas State Teacher of the Year.
Gray also has an Early Childhood National Board Certification and Generalist (EC-6) and English as a Second Language supplemental certifications. She has also won multiple Temple ISD campus Teacher of the Year recognitions and has earned a Master’s designation through the TEA’s Teacher Incentive Allotment.
“We are incredibly proud of Mrs. JoMeka Gray for being selected as a Horace Mann Award recipient,” said Jill Owen, principal of Kennedy-Powell Elementary School. “This national recognition reflects her exceptional leadership, her commitment to service, and her unwavering dedication to students. Mrs. Gray embodies the qualities celebrated by the Horace Mann Award – vision, compassion, and a drive to make a meaningful impact. We are so proud and honored to celebrate her for this well-deserved achievement.”
For more than two decades, The NEA Foundation and Horace Mann have celebrated outstanding educators from around the country each year with the Horace Mann Awards for Teaching Excellence. Each 2026 honoree will receive $10,000 and is a finalist for the NEA Member Benefits Award, the top honor in public education.
The 2026 Horace Mann Awards for Teaching Excellence will be presented at the Salute to Excellence in Education Gala in Washington, D.C. on February 13, 2026. That event will also include the premiere screening of short documentary films about the honorees’ teaching practices and the impact they have in their communities. The NEA Member Benefits Award winner will also be announced during the gala.
“The educators receiving the Horace Mann Awards for Teaching Excellence are redefining what it means to serve students,” said Marita Zuraitis, president of the Horace Mann Educators Foundation Board of Directors. “The Horace Mann Educators Foundation is proud to honor their unwavering dedication to nurturing student potential and strengthening school communities.”