Kim Sixta, a social studies teacher at Ruskin High School in the Hickman Mills School District, was named Missouri's 2026 Teacher of the Year. She's the busiest person her students know, but they say she makes time for them all.

Social studies teacher Kim Sixta said she was in disbelief — coupled with shock and gratitude — when she was announced as Missouri’s next Teacher of the Year.

But for her students at Ruskin High School, the designation came as no surprise.

“I had no doubt in my mind that she would win. Sixta is an amazing teacher,” senior Kody Walrod said. “She's very compassionate for her students. She has that kind of tough love that I think a teacher really needs.”

The state education department named Sixta the 2026 Missouri Teacher of the Year, citing her “immersive sim

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