Connor James named Husky Hero

Submitted by Hamilton Heights School Corporation

Connor James, the CTE Business and Preparing for College and Careers Teacher and Reaching New Heights Contact at Hamilton Heights Middle School (HHMS), has been named the Husky Hero for August.

Now in his fifth year at HHMS, James, the 2025 Hamilton Heights’ Teacher of the Year, is an honor that reflects his innovative teaching style, mentorship, and unwavering commitment to student success.

Under James’ leadership, HHMS continues to expand opportunities that empower students to confidently tackle academic challenges, explore career pathways, and make informed decisions about their futures. His work exemplifies the spirit of the Husky Hero: dedicated, forward-thinking, and deeply invested in helping every student reach new heights.

Here’s what some of the nominators had to say about James:

“Mr. James is always very supportive and upbeat,” Meredith Robinson said. “He is very understanding and always happy to help. I have had him as a teacher for multiple years, and never once have I seen him in a bad mood. He always has a smile on his face. Mr. James always works very, very hard to give his students amazing opportunities. For example, he worked very hard to set up trips for the Husky Business Leaders last year. He set up visits to places such as Arrow McLaren, Chic-Fil-A, Will Power, etc. Then, he put us all in groups based on our preferences and favorite places we visited. He actually took our input into serious consideration when doing this. Mr. James is supportive, positive, upbeat, hardworking, and so much more. I am sad that I will no longer have him as a teacher in the future.”

Emma Crook said, “Because he [Mr. James] has prepared me for the real world in multiple ways. He has helped me improve upon my public speaking skills, and he has taught me about things I will use in real life, like how to write a resume and how to properly attend a job interview.”

Brian Doak said, “This teacher is constantly going above and beyond to give his students ‘real world’ examples and experiences. He provides learning outside of the classroom and brings industry leaders to the students as reliable resources. He is a constant reminder of kindness, and his leadership is impacting many, many students. Mr. James exemplifies a Husky Hero on a regular basis, but his most recent post on LinkedIn touched on so many initiatives we are currently sharing within our school system! Teach 1 to Lead 1 talks about Compassion and understanding others. He asked a group of boys to join him for lunch and talked, listened, and learned about them. He’s a true mentor.”

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“Knowing that community members and/or parents took time out of their day to recognize the work educators are doing at HHSC is very admirable,” said Connor James after receiving the recognition. “I’m grateful some of the work I do was noticed among the many other heroes who are impacting students in deep and meaningful ways at HHSC.

“Teaching can be a taxing profession. Educators are ‘on’ all day attempting to support their students. I plan to use this award and recognition as a way to encourage and show appreciation to the other educators and team members in our building. Providing them with some coffee and snacks is a small gesture but may fill their tanks so they can invest more in Husky students.

“I believe it has never been more difficult to be a teenager. I hear about some of struggles and challenges students are encountering on a daily basis. It motivates me to try and pour myself out daily with the hope I can encourage them to learn something new and become a better version of themselves.”

Do you know a Husky Hero? Nomination forms and information about this special recognition program for Hamilton Heights employees are available at bit.ly/hhschuskyhero. The Husky Hero Recognition program is made possible through the Hamilton Heights Educational Foundation in partnership with Craig and Amber Bowen (FC Tucker). #hhedfoundation