Hausner Teacher Receives National Research Award at AERA 2026

Hausner is proud to celebrate 3rd Grade Lead Teacher Margo Brooke Pellmar, who was honored with the 2026 Action Research Award at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in Los Angeles.

AERA is the largest national organization dedicated to advancing educational research, and this year’s conference brought together more than 15,000 attendees from 76 countries. Margo’s paper was selected from more than 13,000 submissions, and she was named the winner of the Teacher Action Research Award from a field of 210 papers—an extraordinary achievement.

What made the recognition especially meaningful was that Margo was among a small number of K–12 classroom teachers presenting practitioner research at the conference, where most presenters are university-based researchers holding doctoral degrees.

Her award-winning study, “Let the Children Lead: A Teacher Action Research Study on Student Agency and Values as Curriculum,” explores how values-based learning, mindfulness, and student agency can shape meaningful learning experiences in the elementary classroom. Her work highlights how empowering students with voice, choice, and reflection fosters deeper engagement and strengthens classroom community.

At the conference, Margo also joined a panel with two fellow teacher-researchers to present on the impact of practitioner inquiry and how classroom-based research can drive meaningful educational change.

Margo will next present her research at the Network for Research in Jewish Education Conference, hosted at Maryland Hillel, where she will continue exploring the role of values, identity, and student voice in education.

We are incredibly proud of Margo for bringing Hausner’s commitment to innovative, values-driven education to the national stage.

Pictured: Margo Brooke Pellmar receiving the 2026 Action Research Award at the AERA Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.