CRANSTON – Lisa Tvenstrup, a social studies teacher at Ponaganset High School, recently received the 2026 Teaching Excellence Award from the National Education Association Rhode Island.
The honor recognizes an educator’s outstanding contributions to teaching and unwavering advocacy for public education, according to a news release.
Tvenstrup has taught at the high school for 40 years, inspiring students through a diverse array of history and social studies courses, including East Asian history, world cultures, psychology and genocide.
NEARI says Tvenstrup coordinated student volunteers at the high school to participate in the NEARI Children’s Fund’s Gingerbread Express, a holiday gift-giving program that matches sponsors with public school children in need. At the William D’Abate Elementary School in Providence – where the vast majority of students come from low-income families – every child was included in the celebration. Tvenstrup, NEARI says, and her students joined other volunteers and traveled to the school to distribute gifts to every student, ensuring no child was left out of the holiday joy.
“Through the Gingerbread Express, I connected my Ponaganset students with children in the neighborhood where I grew up,” Tvenstrup said in a statement. “The experience deepened their understanding of community and reinforced the idea that no matter where we live or what our circumstances, we are more alike than different.”
As part of this award, Tvenstrup will travel to Washington, D.C., in February to be recognized at the National Education Association Foundation’s Salute to Excellence in Education Gala alongside educators from across the country.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.
