Get On Board Teacher of the Year
2026 Teacher of the Year
First Push Syndicate is proud to have Nick Lyons, P.E. teacher at the Durham Community School in Durham, Maine as the Get On Board Teacher of the Year for 2026!
Nick has consistently proven himself to be a teacher who goes above and beyond in his use of skateboarding as an educational tool. Not only did he run the standard Get On Board program in P.E., which included traditional and adaptive skateboarding, but he also worked with other teachers in his school to launch a cross-curricular deep dive into the history and culture of skateboarding.
Teacher of the Year History
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Nick Lyons
2026 TEACHER OF THE YEAR
Nick is a P.E. and Wellness teacher at the Durham Community School in Durham, Maine. Throughout the past few years, Nick has turned heads with his creativity and his willingness to take the program further, which came to form in 2025 when he created a five week, cross-curricular deep dive into skateboarding history and culture to supplement his traditional Get On Board program.
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Matt Bristol
2025 TEACHER OF THE YEAR
Matt is a P.E. teacher at Essex Middle School in Essex Junction, Vermont. Since adopting the program in the fall of 2024, Matt has gone above and beyond the expectations of Get On Board teachers, through the creation of new curriculum extensions + activities, to leading a district wide teacher workshop.
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Deb Thomas
2024 TEACHER OF THE YEAR
Deb Thomas is the P.E. teacher at Swasey Central School in Brentwood, New Hampshire, and has been teaching Get On Board classes since 2016. Through her continued dedication to the program both in and out of P.E. classes, Deb earned the Get On Board Teacher of the Year Award for 2024!
How do we find our Teacher of the Year?
Our network of Get On Board teachers continues to grow, and with that, we have met some amazing teachers. At the beginning of each year, we at First Push name our Get On Board Teacher of the Year, by following a simple, objective process that takes into account more than twenty metrics, spanning from embracing project based learning, to creating new curriculum and lesson plans. Our Get On Board Teacher of the Year leads the charge for the coming year, and is an advocate for getting students from all over on board!
