AATC Congratulates the 2026 Award Winners

Awardees were recognized at the AATC Annual Conference on October 1-3, 2026, in Scottsdale, AZ. We extend our gratitude to the award committees for their service.

The 2026 O.L. Davis, Jr. Outstanding Book Award is presented to Daniel Castner, Jennifer Schneider, and James Henderson for their book, Anti-Authoritarian Curriculum Practice: Powerful Theories for Teachers (Bloomsbury).

The 2026 Francis P. Hunkins Distinguished Article Award in the category of teaching is presented to Elizabeth Xeng de los Santos and Jessica R. Gallo, for their article, “Shadow teachers: Narratives of preservice teachers' identity development in long-term substitute positions” In the category of curriculum, the Hunkins Award is presented to Caroline Conner, for their article, “Reinforcing white privilege: The marginalization of Latines in the standards for U.S. history”

The 2026 John Laska Dissertation Award in the category of teaching is presented to Aakash Kumar, for  “A National Survey of K-12 Teachers’ Writing Assessment and Feedback: Practices, Perceptions, and Professional Development Needs” In the category of curriculum, the Laska Dissertation Award is presented to Noah Merksamer, for “Preparing students to engage in contested issues: Critical historical thinking in secondary history education” and Zachary Schafer for “Wondrous Uncertainty: Transforming Student Educational Experiences Using Restorative Practices.”

The 2026 Distinguished Mentor is presented to Cheryl Craig.