A Teacher Making Kindness the Lesson

Kindness Takes Center Stage as Teacher of the Year Honored in Iowa

A simple idea—teaching kindness—has grown into a national movement, and this week, it was celebrated in a big way.

A National Honor Rooted in the Midwest

In Des Moines, the Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University honored its first-ever Kindness 101 National Teacher of the Year.

The recognition highlights the growing impact of a program that’s helping students across the country learn something just as important as reading or math: how to treat others.

A Teacher Leading by Example

The honor went to Neil Lahammer, a third-grade teacher at Burnside Elementary School in Red Wing.

Lahammer didn’t just teach kindness—he built it into his students’ daily lives.

He started a “Kindness Club” that meets during recess, where students come up with creative ways to make others smile. It’s student-driven, simple, and powerful.

From a Pandemic Project to a National Movement

The Kindness 101 program itself began during the COVID-19 pandemic, created by Steve Hartman of CBS News.

What started as videos made with his children has since evolved into a free curriculum used by teachers nationwide, in partnership with the Ray Center’s Character Counts initiative.

Today, classrooms across the country are using it to build empathy, connection, and character.

Kindness in Action

Ahead of the awards ceremony, Lahammer brought that mission to life in Iowa.

He presented a $500 donation to a fifth-grade class at Olmstead Elementary School in Urbandale, where students are using the same curriculum to create kindness kits for children battling cancer.

It’s a ripple effect—one classroom inspiring another.

“There’s power because the kids can see themselves in the story,” Lahammer said. “And they want to be like that.”

A Lesson That Lasts

Educators say the program works because students take ownership of it.

They don’t just hear about kindness—they practice it.

And that, in turn, shapes how they see the world and their place in it.

More Than a Moment

As the program continues to expand, its message remains simple:

Kindness isn’t complicated.
It’s taught. It’s practiced. And it spreads.

And sometimes, it starts with one teacher—and a group of kids who just want to make someone smile.