Celebrating the Power of Great Teaching

2025 Above & Beyond Honorees

This year, we celebrated five outstanding California public high school educators — each nominated by a former student whose life they profoundly shaped. Their stories were a powerful reminder of what great teaching makes possible.

Honoring (pictured below top to bottom): Justin Kurup, Mandi de Witte, Lupe Avila, Andrew Sindel, and Kelly McAlister. 

At Above & Beyond Teaching, our work is simple: we support and celebrate teachers so they can keep doing what they do best. This weekend was such a beautiful reflection of that mission.

Over the next week, we’ll be sharing features on each teacher and the former student who nominated them. We can’t wThis year, we celebrated five outstanding California public high school educators — each nominated by a former student whose life they profoundly shaped. Their stories were a powerful reminder of what great teaching makes possible.

Honoring (pictured below top to bottom): Justin Kurup, Mandi de Witte, Lupe Avila, Andrew Sindel, and Kelly McAlister. 

At Above & Beyond Teaching, our work is simple: we support and celebrate teachers so they can keep doing what they do best. This weekend was such a beautiful reflection of that mission.

Over the next week, we’ll be sharing features on each teacher and the former student who nominated them. We can’t wait for you to learn more about these incredible educators and why they love what they do.