John Herron

The day after he received the Lifelong Learner Award at this year’s Middle Schools Awards Night, John Herron, an 8th-grade social studies teacher at IS 96 in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, took his class on a field trip to the United Nations. “It goes beyond field trips,” he explained, saying that such excursions are a way to “make sure that my love of learning becomes their love of learning.”

“He is a forever student,” said fellow IS 96 teacher Angela Gomez said of the 14-year veteran. She nominated Herron for the award because he “goes out of his way” for his students by advocating for them and pursuing professional development.

Herron’s impact is felt beyond the walls of IS 96. A few years ago, he attended a Civics For All workshop, a city Department of Education initiative designed to improve civics education. The training inspired a class project in which his students worked with a state senator’s office to collect toys and gifts for patients at a nearby children’s hospital.

Herron had focused his students’ attention toward the needs of the community, but it was the students who chose whom and how to support.

“Whatever their idea was, he tried to make it a reality,” Gomez said.

IS 96 Chapter Leader Dominica Bernabe-Fiume, who has worked with Herron for 10 years, respects his “commitment to teaching,” describing him as “an amazing person, father and teacher.” Gomez, who has worked with Herron for three years, said, “He’s a hoot. I try to be a little more like John every day.”