Impact
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Teacher Feature
Brandon Boylan
2026 District Teacher of the Year · Photos and Article Credit: AHISD Communications
Brandon Boylan, Mule Time Media Teacher at Alamo Heights Junior School, is the 2026 Alamo Heights ISD Teacher of the Year.
Boylan joined Alamo Heights ISD in 2024. He began his teaching career in 2014 and has also served as an elementary and middle school English Language Arts teacher.
His classroom is a fully functioning newsroom led by seventh- and eighth-graders who cover timely, newsworthy topics on their campus and in the district, with the assistance of Boylan's service dog, Buzz, who brings smiles to the student journalists' faces daily.
"At the end of the day, the classroom community is not really about the teacher," says Boylan. "Certainly, I set the standard, yet it is the students who build the home. Thus, I deem it vital to put students in positions where they can be successful as leaders in and contributors to the classroom community. This is where the student-centric classroom comes into play. As I see it, it is my job to facilitate the learning rather than conveying it. My job is to hand the students the paint rather than painting the path for them."
Boylan will represent AHISD as the district's nominee for the Trinity Prize for Excellence in Teaching and Region 20 Teacher of the Year.
"Brandon stands apart not only for what he does in the classroom, but for how deeply his work shapes culture, opportunity, and student voice across our campus and beyond," says Dr. Stuart Guthrie, AHJS Principal. "Teacher of the Year should represent excellence in instruction, leadership, and impact. Brandon Boylan exemplifies all three. Our students are better because of him. Our campus is stronger because of him."
In November, each campus hosted a Teacher of the Year nomination process and selected one teacher who exemplifies the Profile of a Learner to represent their campus this year. A Selection Committee of AHISD teachers and staff met in February to select the District Teacher of the Year.
All five campus teachers of the year were recognized at the February 18 Board Meeting, where the District Teacher of the Year was announced.
The 2026 Campus
Teachers of the Year
Emily Rangel
Alamo Heights HS
Culinary Arts Teacher
Brandon Boylan
Alamo Heights Junior School
Mule Time Media Teacher
Debbie Mainz
Cambridge Elementary
3rd Grade Teacher
Erica Kovach
Woodridge Elementary
Special Education Teacher
Libby Perez
Howard ECC
Kindergarten Teacher
...and Buzz
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