Ohio Teacher Wins Top Honor for Genocide Education

Teaching middle schoolers about genocide takes a special kind of courage and compassion, and one Ohio educator has spent decades making sure students never forget history's most painful lessons.

Elisa Case, an English and social studies teacher at Lake Middle High School in Hartville, has won the 2026 Genocide Educator of the Year award from the Ohio Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Education Commission. She'll receive the honor April 13 at the 46th annual Governor's Holocaust Commemoration at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.

Case has taught at Lake since 2000 and brings 40 years of classroom experience to her work. She's the second person ever to receive this prestigious award, which recognizes educators who go above and beyond in teaching students about genocide and human rights.

Her commitment runs deep. Last June, Case traveled overseas for the Commission's "Holocaust by Bullets" In-Field Seminar with Yahad–In Unum, an intensive training that takes educators to actual historical sites. Over the years, she's pursued countless professional development opportunities and earned multiple teaching awards and grants.

"Elisa's kindness and empathy for others make her a great leader and teacher," said Commission Executive Director Holly Hollingsworth. "We are inspired by her passion for and commitment to teaching, and her dedication to her students and her community."

Why This Inspires

Case represents teachers nationwide who tackle difficult subjects with grace and purpose. By helping young people understand the consequences of hatred and intolerance, she's equipping the next generation to recognize warning signs and stand up for human dignity. Her work ensures that the voices of survivors and victims continue to reach new ears, keeping memory alive when fewer witnesses remain to tell their stories firsthand.

The Governor's Holocaust Commemoration will feature remarks from Dr. Henry Fenichel, a Holocaust survivor who spent time in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp as a child. He and his mother escaped on "Transport 222" and eventually reached freedom in British Mandate Palestine, and he later taught physics at the University of Cincinnati for nearly 40 years.

Through educators like Case, the promise of "never again" stays within reach for each new generation of students walking through her classroom doors.