Fund Awards Quality in Teaching
Nancy Thompson Harris Award

When Nancy Thompson Harris passed away in 1997 after a battle with breast cancer her family and friends established the Nancy Thompson Harris Award for Excellence in Teaching Literature with the Albuquerque Community Foundation. With first-hand knowledge of ACF’s programs, Nancy’s sister, Diane, and brother-in-law and ACF Board member, Curtis Brewer, chose a Restricted Endowment Fund with the Foundation to leave a legacy benefiting Nancy’s special interests.

Nancy Thompson Harris

Nancy was a Senior and Honor’s English teacher at Sandia High School for 27 years. This memorial fund honors her life long love of literature and her dedication to teaching. The first review panel included teachers Paul Hagedoon and Susan Ryan, and Nancy’s sister Diane. They read nomination packages searching for one teacher with a similar love of literature and dedication to cultivating this love in his/her students. After reading about the teachers from students and fellow educators, four finalists were chosen to write an essay on the joys of teaching.

The 1999 award was made to Amy Homicz, a teacher with 28 years in the classroom and currently a teacher at Manzano High School. Amy's essay ended with: "The joys of teaching are equally about the joys of learning; about the joys of the long-term over the short-term; about affirming life and hope over affecting a fashionable cynicism."