Each year, the commonwealth celebrates a public school teacher who has made a lasting impact through their engagement with students and leadership in and out of the classroom.
This year, the festivities took place at the lively gym of the Oliver Hazard Perry Elementary School in South Boston.
Students and staff, joined by Gov. Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, gathered to recognize Luisa Sparrow, a special education teacher and the 2025 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year recipient.
“We hope that by celebrating this wonderful educator, Ms. Sparrow, we are also recognizing the work of all of our teachers and school professionals in every classroom in Boston and across the commonwealth,” said Wu.
After a performance by the school choir, Russell Johnston, the acting commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, invited Sparrow to the stage.
“I’m very overwhelmed and humbled,” she said. “This is such an amazing school, and Massachusetts is an amazing place to be an educator.”
Sparrow — or Ms. S, as her students call her — began working as a general education teacher. In that role, she worked closely with a special education teacher who supported some of her students. That helped her realize she wanted to follow the same path and focus on teaching children with intellectual disabilities.
Sixteen years later, she continues working as a special education teacher for fifth and sixth grade students, a job she says, is so rewarding.
“I just really love teaching,” she said, “I think my favorite part about it is that there is so much room to work on academics with students and also work on their living skills.”
The joyous ceremony ended with a surprise when David Morales, the general manager of the health plan Wellpoint, announced his donation of $10,000 to the elementary school.
