Teacher Stories
Teachers Tell All: You Shared Your Proudest Classroom Achievements with Us!

The school year has flown by! It’s been a big year for you, and for us too. You may have heard, this year BrainPOP turned 25! As a part of our 25th anniversary celebrations, we asked teachers from all over the country to share some of their proudest classroom moments with us, both big and small.
Teaching is no easy task, and these accomplishments are no small feat. The responses we received from teachers reflect the dedication, passion, and creativity they share. Are you ready to be inspired by the incredible work happening in classrooms around the country? Let’s dive into some of the amazing accomplishments we’ve heard!

Witnessing student growth across every subject
It’s always exciting to see how much progress students can make in just a few short months. Over 1,500 teachers shared their proudest moments with us—and their responses were filled with stories of incredible academic growth.
The most popular milestones? Almost one in every three teachers mentioned their students’ growth in reading and writing across all grade levels. Teachers were thrilled to see students become more confident readers, tackling more complex texts, and developing a love for writing:
- “My students have grown almost two years worth in their reading capabilities. They worked really hard this year on their skills, taking on book clubs, book presentations, posters, and creating unique projects that have helped them grow in their literacy.” – Lisa S.
- “We completely doubled our growth in reading on our MAP diagnostic test. We started at 43% meeting their goals to 75% meeting their goals!” – Camryn M.
- “My students have worked tremendously hard this year and almost all have reached grade level or above on their reading levels.” – Kimberly H.
- “My students are amazing writers and love to create narrative stories and informative paragraphs.” – Alaina L.
- “Writing is a skill that will help them throughout their whole lives, and a lot of people think that writing is hard or that they can’t do it. But in my class my students often say ‘can we have just a few more minutes to write’ Or ‘Ms. Bridges, you didn’t give us much time today, we need more writing time!’” – Shelby B.
In addition to reading and writing, teachers celebrated incredible growth in other areas:
- “My first grade class has worked so hard on learning to add and subtract using multiple strategies.” – Samantha K.
- “I teach art and this year the biggest achievement for 6th, 7th and 8th grade was to learn to make grids and use them to improve drawing skills. The students struggled with this concept at first because we had to incorporate math. In the end they were successful and very proud of themselves.” – Patti P.
- “My students grew immensely from their pretest science assessment at the beginning of their 6th grade year to their midterm test in February. Some classes grew as much as 40%!” – Annabel R.
- “We have had over 16 years combined growth in Reading and over 28 years of combined growth in Math!” – Audrey L.
- “My students were mostly in the bottom 25 percentile compared to other 3rd graders in our school. We have grown to the 75th percentile. I am so proud of all the growth they have made.” – Keisha H.
- “My students have worked so hard to become scholars! They have worked hard to improve their organization and how to budget their time. We have practiced how to study, take notes, and how best to answer tricky questions.” – Ashley S.

Developing kind, compassionate, and resilient learners
A thriving classroom isn’t just about academics. When sharing their proudest classroom accomplishments, teachers overwhelmingly and consistently used words like “kindness,” “empathy,” “respect,” and “confidence.”
Students demonstrated all kinds of social-emotional growth that shows us classrooms are one of the first places kids learn to build community:
- “We talk every day about what it means to be kind, have a growth mindset and to be a good citizen. I can truly say I have a class of leaders who work hard and who are starting to understand what it means to be a good person!” – Shelby B.
- “I am especially proud of my class when we have guests and other teachers in my classroom. My students are kind and respectful. The class didn’t start out this way, and I am so proud of the growth they have made in this regard.” – Anna T.
- “I am especially proud of my students when one student lost their money for the school
- store and the entire class donated part of their money to help that student out.” – Elizabeth P.
- “I was especially proud of my class during the solar eclipse viewing because they were on their best behavior listening, following directions, and learning a lot. They even completed a project explaining what happened and all of them explained it very well. ” – Janett C.
- “I taught my students how to use ‘I statements’ and express their feelings in a productive way. Students have done such a wonderful job using their voices to advocate for themselves and how they feel. And that is what is most important to me as a teacher. I want all of my students to feel safe in my classroom.” – Ashley F.
- “Our classroom has really shone by creating a warm and welcoming space where every student feels like they belong and can do their best. We’ve worked together closely, giving each student the attention they need to thrive, and it’s paid off big time!” – Carlos V.
- “When a student was unsure how to move forward with a problem in class, their classmates joined in to support and provide different ideas and scaffolds for this student and celebrated their win as a class when they understood the problem and pushed through!” – Grace G.
- “Our biggest achievement has been coming together as a class of strangers from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. We are a class of students from several different countries. There are 6 different languages spoken in our classroom. We arrived in the classroom as strangers and are leaving as a family.” – Jessica M.

Creating student engagement and excitement
The most memorable moments in teaching can happen when something clicks for kids: their faces light up and they’re truly immersed in the experience of learning. Many teachers shared how they sparked this energy with a wide range of activities, demonstrating just how creative they are, and dedicated to making learning fun and exciting for their kids:
- “My students LOVE getting to participate in reading buddies. We are partnered up with a current kindergarten class, and every Friday we go to the library, and pick out books for our buddies. My 4th graders love to have that sense of leadership and responsibility in their school and truly enjoy every second they are with their buddies!” – Elizabeth G.
- “My students were especially engaged during our simulation of American settlement in Plymouth. Watching them immerse themselves in the roles of pilgrims, learning about the challenges they faced, and making decisions as a community was truly inspiring.” – Lyndsay G.
- “Our classroom was able to make real world connections by designing and building Co2 Cars. The students raced the cars and analyzed what factors were the most important for speed and Newton’s Laws of Motion.” – Lora M.
- “My students were especially engaged when they became surgeons for a day. They performed ‘surgery’ on math problems using the distributive property. They dressed up like surgeons with caps, gloves, and white lab coats. It was so fun!” – Emilia A.
- “Our class learned about the Titanic and the kids were absolutely fascinated! After learning through many different sources the kids wrote a historical fiction story about being on the Titanic. They came up with amazing stories! We read our stories to the second graders in our school and gave them a preview of a really fun unit they will also participate in!” – Victoria T.
- “Our biggest achievement this year was meeting the mayor of our town! We were learning about the government and after learning about different types of government, we were inspired to write to our mayor. He loved our letters and came to visit us.” – Courtney P.
- “My greatest accomplishment this year has been embarking on an unforgettable journey all the way to Washington DC and back! Thirty-two teenagers and only four chaperones, navigating 3,000 miles for six unforgettable days. It was a whirlwind of laughter, discovery, and growth. It is one of my greatest privileges and joys sharing such incredible experiences with my students. – Michaela A.
Thank you teachers for all your hard work this year!

This school year has been a journey filled with both challenges and triumphs, and teachers have shown so much resilience, creativity, and dedication to their students. From fostering a love of reading to nurturing kindness and compassion, you’ve made a profound impact on the lives of your students.
We want to say a huge THANK YOU to all the teachers who participated in our first annual Moby Awards, and to all the dedicated teachers across the country every day! The responses we received, and your dedication to students and learning, are the reasons BrainPOP will continue to grow and evolve right alongside you—for these past 25 years and the next.
Jinn Liu is the Creative Manager of Copy and Content at BrainPOP. She has a Bachelor’s in Communications and currently lives in New York City. She is a creator, writer, and lifelong learner.