Amarillo Teacher Named Finalist for Lifetime Achievement Award

Posted Date: 04/01/2025

April 1, 2025 – Kristi Leff, a teacher at Humphrey’s Highland Elementary and the 2025 Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year is a finalist for the H-E-B Excellence In Education Lifetime Achievement Award.

H-E-B’s Excellence in Education Lifetime Achievement Award salutes teachers with more than 20 years of experience. Representatives from H-E-B surprised Leff in her classroom with balloons, cookies and a $1,000 check. Leff and other finalists for the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards will be honored and the winners will be announced in Austin in early May. If she wins, Leff will receive a $25,000 award and a $25,000 grant for her school. 

Winners are selected from a pool of finalists by judges who include former winners, school administrators and university and community leaders. According to H-E-B, since 2002, the program has awarded more than $13 million in cash and grants to Texas teachers and schools and is the largest of its kind in the state of Texas and the nation.

Leff has taught at Humphrey’s Highland since 2015 and has previously taught at schools in Florida as well as Calallen and Mathis ISD in Texas during her 21-year career. In October, Leff became AISD’s fourth educator to earn the title of Texas Teacher of the Year. Amarillo ISD has a proud legacy of producing state and nationally-recognized teachers.