Leigh-Anne Hendrick, a longtime social studies teacher at Chautauqua Lake Central School, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Louis E. Yavner Teaching Award by the New York State Board of Regents. The award recognizes a teacher who has made exceptional contributions to education about the Holocaust and other violations of human rights.

The Yavner Award was established by Regent Emeritus Louis E. Yavner to honor educators across New York State who advance Holocaust and human rights education.

“Leigh-Anne Hendrick is one of those amazing educators who truly changes lives,” Chautauqua Lake Superintendent, Josh Liddell, said. “For more than 25 years, she has taught our students not just history, but empathy, courage, and the responsibility we all share to stand up for the rights and dignity of others. Being named the 2025-26 recipient of the Louis E. Yavner Teaching Award is a powerful and well-deserved honor, and we could not be prouder. Our district–and our community–are stronger because of Leigh-Anne and the passion and expertise she brings into her classroom every day. Her dedication reaches far beyond the classroom, touching the lives of countless students, teachers, and community members and leaving a legacy that will be felt for years to come.”

During her time at Chautauqua Lake, Hendrick’s teaching has included building learning experiences that go far beyond textbooks, having students study diaries, testimony and primary sources that help them to reflect on what history means for their own responsibilities in the modern world. Her teaching also centers on empathy, critical thinking and helping young people understand lives and experiences beyond their own, according to Chautauqua Lake administrators.

Leigh-Anne Hendrick was awarded for her work in education about the Holocaust and other violations of human rights.

Hendrick created the school’s Holocaust, Human Rights, and Genocide Studies Honors course and helped grow what began as a local class into a countywide effort involving multiple school districts. She leads professional development for educators, builds partnerships with the Hebrew Congregation of Chautauqua, Chautauqua Institution, and national organizations like Facing History and Ourselves, and designs large learning events that bring human rights experts to the region. Even with all this, her impact is most noted in her students, including former student Peyton D’Anthony, who credits Hendrick with changing her life.

“My junior year, she took students to Greece and Italy, and it was the first time I had ever been on a plane,” D’Anthony said. “That trip changed my life, and I haven’t stopped traveling since. Her Holocaust class inspired me to study International Relations and genocide studies in college. Now, as an educator, I see how much thought and care she puts into every lesson. She presents history in a way that is nuanced, relevant, and understandable, and she opens our small town’s worldview.”

Additionally, Hendrick is a United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Teacher Fellow, a Genocide Education Program Fellow, and recently launched the Legacy Fellowship for Civil Rights Education, which will bring local teachers to historic civil rights sites in the American South. Hendrick is also someone who is noted by administrators to be humble.

“Leigh-Anne is humble about her work,” Secondary Principal Rachel Curtin, who nominated her for the award, said. “But she has shaped the moral and intellectual growth of hundreds of students. She teaches them not only what happened in history, but how to think, how to question, and how to care.”

Hendrick herself said being presented with the Louis E. Yavner Teaching Award by Regent Keith Wiley is an honor, adding that the ceremony was a “powerful recognition” of the years of work she has done in Holocaust education, atrocity prevention, human rights and social justice, work that she also said is not hers alone.

Hendrick’s work is noted to have made both an impact locally at Chautauqua Lake and region wide.

“It lives in classrooms and communities shaped by colleagues, partners, and allies who believe education can hold both truth and hope,” Hendrick said. “I have been incredibly blessed with a superintendent, Dr. Josh Liddell and a principal, Rachel Curtin, who believe in me and in this work. Their trust, encouragement, and willingness to let me run with some pretty bold ideas has been one of greatest gifts of my career. I am also deeply grateful to the Hebrew Congregation of Chautauqua who founded and funds The Holocaust and Social Justice Education program of Chautauqua County, bringing incredible speakers, training and opportunities to our community. At a time when truth and empathy are urgently needed, this honor reminds us that education remains one of our most powerful tools.”

More information on the Louis E. Yavner Teaching award can be found at www.nysed.gov/standards-instruction/louis-e-yavner-teaching-and-citizen-awards.

Leigh-Anne Hendrick is pictured with Chautauqua Lake Principal, Rachel Curtin, who nominated her for the award.