Ariel Kimbrough is fervent in her belief that teachers don’t want to let anybody down.
That includes students, of course, especially those in her first-grade classroom at St. Angela’s Catholic School in Austin. But it’s also about their parents.
Her approach creates confidence among kids and parents alike, which is one reason she was named a 2026 Impact Educator of the Year award winner from Big Shoulders Fund, which manages St. Angela’s and 37 other high-need schools.
She was one of three Chicago-area teachers so awarded in the Big Shoulders Plus network, and received $5,000, plus $500 to dedicate to her classroom.
Why does she teach?
“The thing that I love about teaching is seeing the light go off,” she said, “seeing them really absorbing everything I’m saying.
“Teaching kind of made me in a sense grow up. It has made me come out of my shell.”
The Dominican University graduate is a little unique in that she has taught at St. Angela for five years and prior to that, did her student teaching at the school.
Thus, she’s ingrained in St. Angela’s culture as a teacher, but also as the school’s cheerleading coach, overseeing first through eighth graders.
Tim Gallo is managing director for Plus Schools and Leadership for Big Shoulders Fund. He said there are three qualities inherent to the award – making a strong academic impact, making an impact beyond the classroom and being invested in the school’s mission, through a teacher’s presence and actions.
“Ariel had all of those qualities,” he said, adding she was so awarded because of “her commitment to the St. Angela community and willingness to go above and beyond.”
One of the favorite parts of Gallo’s job is announcing the award. With Kimbrough, Gallo and the St. Angela team secretly recruited her parents to be there when the award was announced in St. Angela’s gym in May.
“It is the highlight of the year,” he said. “The lead up to it, you want to make sure it’s a lot of fun. Teachers work so hard and are often unrecognized, and it’s fun to recognize them in a public way.”
For her own example, Kimbrough was caught completely off guard when she heard Gallo announce her name.
“I was completely taken aback,” she said. “Tim Gallo was speaking about the award and the person, listing off these qualities. And then he said my name. I had to look around. Is there another Ariel here?”
A funny story, to be sure, but teaching is serious business for Kimbrough, who finished at Dominican and did her student teaching at the tail end of the pandemic.
In addition to more documentation that has become necessary over the past five years, she said the focus must not only be on students, but parents.
“It’s very crucial because if anything happens within the school or classroom, parents have to trust their teacher to make sure their students are safe,” she said. “I want them to know we create a connection.”
Christine Molina, St. Angela’s executive director, said Kimbrough is a role model for the entire school, as a first-grade teacher and as cheerleading coach.
“All of us at St. Angela are proud to work with an educator who consistently shows up for her students with such a strong sense of resilience and empathy that goes beyond expectations,” Molina said in a Big Shoulders Fund press release.
Kimbrough said a key to her success, and for any young teacher, is to have a goal and keep working toward it, come what may.
In other words, never get complacent.
“Move up, mentor somebody, give them the skills you possess and challenge yourself,” she said. “Take on responsibilities that make you better. It forces you to learn.”