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De’Shawn Washington ’13, G’18, G’22, a fourth-grade teacher at Maria Hastings Elementary School in Lexington, was named 2024 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. 

De’Shawn Washington ’13, G’18, G’22, a fourth-grade teacher at Maria Hastings Elementary School in Lexington, was named 2024 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. 

The announcement was made this past fall at a school-wide assembly, with Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler and Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley in attendance.

“Washington has demonstrated the importance of recognizing his students for who they are and supporting them in achieving their individual goals, all with an eye toward growth and learning,” said Tutwiler. “The impact of a caring teacher and an inclusive classroom is immeasurable.” 

The Massachusetts Teacher of the Year Program is the state’s top award for educators and annually recognizes excellence in teaching across Massachusetts through the selection of a teacher who exemplifies the dedication, commitment, and positive contributions of educators statewide. Washington is the first Black male to be named Massachusetts Teacher of the Year and the fourth recipient from Lexington. His recognition as the 62nd recipient of this award automatically designates him as Massachusetts’ candidate for the National Teacher of the Year program. 

Washington said this award is more than just a title—and he readily embraces the responsibilities that come with it. 

“I’m now an ambassador of public education. I now go out on the road and share stories of exceptional teachers doing such exceptional work for students,” he said. “I’m here to tell stories of how teachers are cultivating their students into changemakers. I’m called now to represent this field of K–12 education. So, I had to really be able to sit with that and be prepared mentally for that.” 

Currently, Washington is in his fourth year at Hastings Elementary and seventh year of teaching overall. Previously, he taught third grade in the Boston Public School system and facilitated Massachusetts Tests for Education Licensure workshops at UMass Boston. 

Washington said he discovered his true calling for teaching while volunteering at JumpStart, an AmeriCorps program for preschool-aged children in underserved communities. 

“That’s where my interest in education really started to take off. I was helping young kids learn how to read and socialize and learn how to just build community,” said Washington, who worked with children to enhance their reading, writing, phonemic, and rhyme awareness abilities. 

At the time, Washington was a tax associate for a prestigious Big Four accounting firm in Boston where, he said, the hours were long, and the work was unfulfilling. 

“I did not like my job. I did not like what I was doing, because it wasn't my calling. It wasn't something I was interested in," he explained. 

So, he redirected his skills by volunteering at Junior Achievement, an organization that supports initiatives and endeavors aimed at equipping K–12 students with the necessary resources to cultivate skills in financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and work readiness. During his time with JA, Washington visited elementary schools to talk to students about business. It was there, he said, he knew he had found his calling. 

“It was just lightbulbs going off. They were just making connections with the real world, asking questions, doing the activities, learning new things,” he said. “It reinvigorated the joy of being able to teach and the joy of watching students learn from what I was teaching.” 

This realization prompted Washington’s return to UMass Boston, this time to pursue a master’s degree in elementary education. 

“I love to learn. And I think teachers—great teachers—are learners,” he said. 

This emphasis on learning is not an exaggeration. Not only is Washington a triple Beacon, having earned his bachelor’s and two master’s degrees from UMass Boston (the second master's is in special education), he is currently pursuing his doctorate in education — though, not at the Harbor campus this time. 

“UMass Boston is home, but sometimes you need to step away from home a little bit to expand yourself,” the Dorchester native said. 

“Stepping away” might be a bit of an understatement to describe Washington’s 1,000-mile commute to earn his doctorate in education. Every other Friday for the past two years, he has traveled to Nashville to attend two in-person classes at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College. To date, he is over halfway done with the program, with an anticipated graduation date of May 2025. 

Washington said this arrangement, though costly and time-consuming, has afforded him the invaluable opportunity of meeting with educators from all over the country and hearing unique ideas and perspectives. 

"I’m actually building more of an understanding of how education as a whole system works. There are so many different people coming together to share the story of education and talk about leadership and policy and how that's impacting them in their state. You’re able to take away a lot about education and about the work when you see it from many different perspectives,” he said. “It really shifted the way I really approach work over the last two years of education. I feel like I’ve gotten much stronger with the ability to share ideas and really found my voice.” 

And in turn, Washington is hoping to help his students find their voice as well. 

“Each person has their own story that they're writing as we speak. They have their own personalities, their own drives, their own motivations,” he said. “So, I’m learning about them: who they want to become when they get older and how to support them along the way, to get them one step closer to that. I like to think of it as cultivating changemakers.”