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Elizabeth "Liz" Anstine, a business teacher at Leavenworth High School, was named the 2025 Kansas Teacher of the Year.
Anstine received this award during a ceremony in Wichita on Sept. 28, 2024.
"I was really excited and shocked and overwhelmed and thrilled and all the things," Anstine said.
Anstine was named the 2025 KTOY out of a group of eight finalists, and these finalists came from a pool of more than 126 nominations.
It's the first time Leavenworth High School has had a KTOY winner since 2014.
Throughout the next year, Anstine and the KTOY finalists will work and travel as a team to advocate for Kansas education and the teaching profession.
"I take this opportunity extremely serious,”"Anstine said. "It’s very important that we let people know, 'Hey, this teaching profession is a real deal. It's cool, it's important and we've got to get good teachers.'"
Anstine received a $4,000 cash award as a part of her recognition and will also receive the Kansas Teacher of the Year Lifelong Learning Scholarship to attend participating universities free of charge for as long as she continues teaching in Kansas.
In addition, she will receive The Hubbard Foundation Kansas Teacher of the Year Ambassadorship which provides funds for travel and other necessary expenses incurred by the Kansas Teacher of the Year.
Anstine also will receive the use of a rental car from Enterprise Rent-a-Car for Kansas Teacher of the Year travel.
Jostens Inc. also provided Anstine with a Leader in Education ring.
Each of the eight members of the 2025 Kansas Teacher of the Year team received a $2,000 cash award from Security Benefit and a red marble apple from the Master Teacher in Manhattan.
In addition, each will receive Capturing Kids’ Hearts training from The Flippen Group, of College Station, Texas.
“We’ve got to step up our game in Kansas for sure, so I’m excited to be a part of that team,” Anstine said.
Before Anstine became an educator 14 years ago, she worked in the corporate world. She considers teaching a calling, something she was meant to do.
“I really wanted to find a one-town high school,” Anstine said. “I grew up in a smaller town in Salina, and I love the opportunity to get the community involved. When I came out here, I thought maybe I’d come here for a few years and figure it out. I’ve fallen in love with the community.”
After 14 years of a changing education landscape, there’s one thing that keeps Anstine motivated.
“It’s the students,” Anstine said. “You just fall in love with them and want what’s best for them, and if you raise the bar, they’ll reach it.”
That love is undoubtedly reciprocated.
“I knew she was a good teacher from the beginning,” said Alexis Kendrick, a senior at Leavenworth High School. “I was just like, this is real, like she’s actually getting awarded for something amazing, and I really appreciate her for that, and I’m really happy for her.”
As a business teacher, Anstine’s classes range from business management to marketing to finance. That calls for multiple different classrooms: a school store, a drink stand and a printing lab.
Kendrick works in the store and lab each week.
"It definitely opened up my communication skills so now, not only can I write emails to other professional people, I can talk to customers," Kendrick said. "I kind of like became a leader which is really different for me ‘cause I didn’t know I was going to become a leader, but I am now."
Daegan O’Brien, a senior at LHS, also works in the lab. He works on the website and designs t-shirts.
“I like that she cares for us and that she respects us as students and workers,” O’Brien said about Anstine. “The way that she does things, she does it differently from other teachers. She’s more involved with our lives and how we live in our everyday lives.”
Anstine certainly admits to liking a change of pace.
“I like learning with hands on,” she said. “I don’t like to sit in a classroom for eight hours. I’m kind of building something I wish I would have had.”
This mindset keeps her trying new things to reach her students.
“I think we have to look at educating the student different,” Anstine said. “I think so many educational institutions even Kansas, are doing the same thing.”
Anstine is now a candidate for National Teacher of the Year, but she says accolades are just a perk. It’s the daily reassurance and kind notes from students that’s the real treat.
“I love my job,” Anstine said. “It just validates that I’m in the right place.”
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