Christian Teacher of the Year: Heather Smith uses life’s curveballs to teach about God’s perfect plan 

Third grade teacher Heather Smith has used a traumatic car accident to teach her class – which she calls “Team Smith” – about accountability, relationships, teamwork and trust in the Lord.

Smith unexpectedly started teaching third grade three years ago at Covenant Life School in Gaithersburg, Maryland, after a substitute teaching gig turned into a full-time job offer.

“The only explanation is – ‘but God,’” she told Heartlander News, thinking back to when she first took the job.

“I also learned to be careful what you pray for because He will show up and He will answer, whether you like the answer or you don’t, and obedience is where it’s at. … Obedience can be scary, obedience can be uncomfortable, and yet He uses it and amplifies the results beyond your wildest imagination.”

Smith’s zeal and willingness to give her all are why she’s one of 12 instructors across the country named 2026 Christian Teacher of the Year by the Herzog Foundation, publisher of Heartlander News. 

Smith’s first year of teaching brought another curveball as the recovery time after reconstructive surgery on her arm – the result of a head-on car crash she and her then-3-year-old son experienced in 2022 – increased from the expected two weeks to a quarter of the school year.

During this time, she had to relearn simple things such as how to hold a pencil and how to write – things a teacher needs to do a lot.

“Being able to navigate [something] that hard very openly and vulnerably with the kids has been one of the most impactful things and has shown them you can learn any fact at any point, but who you are is what’s important,” Smith explained.

“Even grown-ups have to do hard things, and sometimes those hard things are the things that look like they should be easy: holding a pencil.”

Pushups, puzzle pieces and lifelong lessons

Smith views her classroom as a team where she is the coach instead of following the standard teacher-student relationship. She didn’t receive any formal teacher training or education before becoming a teacher, she explains, and sees the adaptability needed for each new class.

“A coach adapts to a new team, new place,” Smith said. “Things are constantly shifting and you have to get with the program.”

She teaches her team to work together and care for one another, even using her New Year’s resolution to teach about accountability.

Last year, Smith told her students her goal was to do 35 pushups on her bad arm, which was no small feat. Each morning, she added one pushup to her set to try to work up to 35 pushups.

“Progress is really what success is about,” she said. “It’s not an end goal because you are a lifelong learner, and you never fully arrive.”

Smith’s students would remind her to do her pushups every day, and on days when she lacked motivation or reached higher numbers that felt impossible to complete, her students started doing the pushups with her.

“Accountability is an act of love,” she explained. “It doesn’t feel good, but love is willing what is good for another person’s benefit, expecting nothing in return. They get no tangible reward from me doing pushups.”

Smith does a team-building exercise at the beginning of each school year in which she gives the students puzzle pieces and asks them to collectively put the pieces together.

Five minutes will go by and then a few more, with the pieces still not fitting and the students’ frustration growing.

Finally, Smith explains, she reveals that the puzzle pieces are actually part of a 5,000-piece puzzle. The students didn’t have all the pieces they needed to complete the task, but they didn’t know it.

“Each one of our lives is like a puzzle piece, but we can’t even see the whole thing, much less the whole tapestry, the whole picture of what God has ordained,” she said. “Throughout your lifetime God reveals a little bit more of your piece and eventually you’ll understand how that little hook and loop attaches to the next piece.

“You have no idea the impact that your life is going to have on someone else’s.”

Christian education: ‘It’s who we are’ 

Even after just three years of teaching, Smith recognizes how impactful Christian education can be for students because of its focused priorities for children.

Smith describes herself as a product of both public and Christian education, and she’s noticed that priorities are the biggest difference between the two.

If education is like seeds being planted, Smith explains, public education is like planting all types of seeds in one soil, putting fertilizer on top and hoping a few things will grow. In contrast, she says Christian education is like planting seeds in fertile soil that has been intentionally moisturized and fertilized in preparation for planting, allowing the seeds to thrive and grow.

Christian education is “who we are,” she said.

“It is how God designed us, and our world has stepped so far from its original design … but at the same time, nothing catches God by surprise, and nothing happens without His approval.”

The Christian Teacher of the Year honor is part of the Herzog Foundation’s Excellence in Christian Education award series. Each of the 12 winners was invited to attend a special professional development and recognition event.