BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Union County residents lined Southwest Sixth Street in front of Lake Butler Middle School to welcome home Florida’s Teacher of the Year, Mark Harrison, on Saturday morning. The Union County High School economics and American Government instructor won the statewide competition in Orlando the previous Thursday.
Harrison was greeted in Lake Butler with a police escort led by Sheriff Brad Whitehead and dozens of well-wishers packed on the sidewalk.
Number 1 out of over 175,000
During a ceremony on Thursday, July 17, Florida Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas named Harrison as the 2026 Florida Teacher of the Year.
In a news release, the Education Department said Harrison was selected from among five Teacher of the Year finalists through a rigorous selection process.
“Mark sets the example of how a talented and dedicated teacher makes all the difference for his students,” Kamoutsas said in the release. “Not only is he dedicated to their academic success, but he also helps his students excel outside the classroom through the Civics and Debate team, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and driving the school bus every morning.”
Harrison will receive a $50,000 award and will also serve as the Christa McAuliffe Ambassador for Education for one year, advocating for students and representing Florida’s teaching community.
The Education Department said Harrison was selected from over 175,000 teachers statewide.
‘He just connects with people’
Union County Superintendent of Schools Mike Ripplinger said he experienced pure joy and exhilaration when Harrison was announced as the winner.
“This is the first time since 1967 or 68 that a small school district has had a Teacher of the Year,” he said. “Dixie County was the last one around 1968. Mark Harrison is an amazing individual in all aspects of his life. To have him not only represent Union County, but the State of Florida for education, I couldn’t think of anyone better.”
The superintendent said that after the ceremony and in the days following, the honoree was coming to terms with the impact of the award.
“He’s still trying to figure out what’s going to happen over the next year as he tours the State of Florida,” Ripplinger said. “It’s still sinking in.”
The superintendent added that although all five finalists for the award are outstanding educators, Harrison’s willingness to go above and beyond for his students sets him apart.
“From elementary, middle, and high schools,” Ripplinger said, “driving the bus, adult ed experience, he just connects with people.”
“If you’re around Mark Harrison for less than five minutes, you’re going to make a connection,” he continued. “It doesn’t matter what age, and I think that came out during the interview process.”
A gift to be a part of their journey
Harrison just completed his third year at the high school. Previously, he spent 18 years teaching third grade at Lake Butler Elementary, and this year, taught some of the same pupils he had instructed a decade ago.
“That’s really the biggest thing for me,” Harrison said in a Times interview earlier this year. “Understanding that even though some of these kids are 18 and some of them are taller than me, they’re the same person inside that I knew when they were eight.”
“And that was the thing about being in third grade—you never get to see how the end works out,” he continued. “It’s such a gift to be able to come up here to the high school and see how their journey ends and be a part of it.”
