CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — Kristie Marbury, a gifted intervention specialist for the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, has been named the 2026 Teacher of the Year by the Ohio Association for Gifted Children, the district announced.
According to the association, the award recognizes an educator who has made a significant contribution to gifted education through innovative ideas, public support, advocacy efforts, or exemplary efforts in gifted service. Marbury received the award — a surprise to her — at the organization’s annual conference in Columbus on October 20.
Marbury drew several nominations for the statewide honor, submitted by both colleagues and former students. In their nomination, her former students described her as caring, engaging and positive, and credited her with making every learner in the room feel noticed.
“When she explained things, she kept us involved. She made sure we were focusing and had us interact in a way that kept us engaged,” the students wrote. “She used her humor to connect to each of us in a meaningful way and make everyone feel unique, seen, and special.”
Gifted intervention specialists work with students identified as gifted, designing instruction that challenges them beyond the standard curriculum. In Cleveland Heights-University Heights, that work sits inside a district that has drawn state attention for how it identifies and serves those students.
The district received a five-star rating in the Gap Closing component of the 2025-2026 state report card, a measure that in part reflects how well schools and districts are identifying gifted students and providing gifted services to them.
For Marbury’s students, the statewide plaque confirms what her classroom already knew: the teacher who kept them involved, laughing and feeling seen is now officially one of the best in Ohio at what she does.
Photo: Warren LeMay, CC BY-SA 2.0