Rachel Swearengin

Rachel Swearengin

Rachel Swearengin is a fifth-grade teacher for Olathe Public Schools in Kansas. Swearengin has over 15 years of experience in education, teaching both kindergarten and fifth grade. Her background includes serving on district standards and curriculum committees, leading professional development at both the building and district levels, chairing her building leadership team, mentoring new educators as a master teacher, and facilitating sessions at her local EdCamp. She currently serves as a field educator for the humanities department at the Kansas State Department of Education, where she leads professional development and contributes to assessment and planning committees.

She also teaches an elementary social studies methods undergraduate course for Emporia State University in Kansas. Swearengin is a member of the National Council for the Social Studies, and she has presented at the association’s national conference on inquiry in the elementary classroom. Swearengin is passionate about teaching effective social studies in the elementary classroom to prepare our youngest learners for their roles as productive citizens in a democracy. She is the 2023 recipient of the Gilder Lehrman Kansas History Teacher of the Year award as well as one of the top 10 finalists for the 2023 Gilder Lehrman National History Teacher of the Year award.

Swearengin received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from MidAmerica Nazarene University and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Emporia State University.