Founded in 1991 by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Tolerance is dedicated to reducing prejudice, improving intergroup relations and supporting equitable school experiences for our nation's children.

Providing free educational materials to teachers and other school practitioners in the U.S. and Canada, SPLC's self-titled magazine is sent to 450,000 educators twice annually, and tens of thousands of educators use their free curricular kits. 

SPLC's teaching materials have won two Oscars, an Emmy and more than 20 honors from the Association of Educational Publishers, including two Golden Lamp Awards, the industry's highest honor.

Featured by Teaching Tolerance each year are visionary educators who use their talents to reduce prejudice, improve intergroup relations and promote equity in their school communities thorugh the year.  This year, SPLC is proud to announce five recepients of the 2014 Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Teaching: Christopher Avery, Amy Vatne Bintliff, Christopher Hoeh, Barrie Moorman and Michelle Nicola.

“The winners of this award are expert social-justice educators,” says Teaching Tolerance Director Maureen Costello, “and who better to learn from? We believe their work will inspire other teachers and encourage them to lead and innovate in their own school communities.”

This past spring, each awardee welcomed Teaching Tolerance into their classrooms where SPLC staff gathered footage of these innovative leaders in action.  

>> Click here to read about each awardee

Watch below to learn why each of these teachers were chosen with this great honor:

Christopher Avery
Steppingstone Scholars, Philadelphia, Pa.

Amy Vatne Bintliff
Oregon Middle School, Oregon, Wis.

Christopher Hoeh
Cambridge Friends School, Cambridge, Mass.

Barrie Moorman
E.L. Haynes Public Charter School, Washington, D.C.

Michelle Nicola
Bridger School, Portland, Ore.