Plainfield Educator Honored As 2026 Indiana Teacher Of The Year
Central Elementary School’s fourth grade teacher, Megan Johnson, has been named the 2026 Indiana Teacher of the Year.
Though she always knew she wanted to be a teacher, she never dreamed she would be recognized in this way.
“I didn’t even question another field. I never had to figure out what I wanted to do,” Johnson says. “I had such a positive experience in school and I was always involved in church with children, I babysat and was a cadet teacher. I’ve always worked with kids and I think it was just something I was meant to do.”
Johnson is a Greenwood High School grad, received her education degree at Ball State University and then earned a master’s from Indiana Wesleyan. She’s taught for 19 years at Plainfield Community School Corporation (PCSC) in third and fourth grades.
In the spring of 2025, Johnson was named Central Elementary’s Teacher of the Year. That made her one of the finalists for Plainfield’s Teacher of the Year, and she earned one of two district titles (elementary and secondary) just a few weeks later.
From there, if PCSC wished to support Johnson as a candidate in the state running, they could do so, and Johnson says Plainfield always does.
The state process includes a new application. There were essays, letters of recommendation from the superintendent, principal, families and others. Johnson turned in a portfolio, and the running for Indiana Teacher of the Year began in July.
“I honestly never thought I’d hear back from them,” she says. “There are more than 65,000 teachers in Indiana. I was already so honored to be a district Teacher of the Year and I knew the talent that was around me in Plainfield. Knowing the finalists just at the district level, I just didn’t see myself going any further because there was so much talent there.”
New this year, the Indiana Secretary of Education, Dr. Katie Jenner, added some steps to the Teacher of the Year process. The state named the Top 7 teachers and then made surprise visits to each of their classrooms to narrow it down to three.
Those Top 3 candidates, including Johnson, had the opportunity to visit Dr. Jenner at the Statehouse to interview and discuss current education policies and best practices. While she awaited the results, a school fundraiser led to a convocation to announce fundraising numbers and to celebrate the students’ success, however, it was all a guise to get Johnson in the room.
“I noticed there seemed to be more cameras in there,” she says. “It was a school ‘Dress Your Best Day’ so everyone was in suits and dresses. Our principal [Ryan Setterlof] began talking and was immediately interrupted by Dr. Jenner, followed by so many people from the Department of Education, my family and others, and she made the announcement. It was just surreal. I was blown away.”
In fact, Setterlof, Johnson’s husband Mike and Brooke Orner, director of communications for PCSC, had known her good news a month prior and had planned to make the day as special as possible.
“I’ve known my husband since I was 7. He’s never kept anything from me in my life, but it was just a top-notch secret for a month,” Johnson says. “I lost my mom a couple of years ago and they even had it down to her favorite flowers there to represent her. My sons (Luke and Caden) were there. Even the high school was working to get my oldest son over to Central and made sure he wasn’t marked absent so I wouldn’t get a notification.”
Looking forward, Johnson’s goal is to bring her family, students and community along with her on the journey.
Her youngest son, Caden, attends Central Elementary and is experiencing it with her. Luke is getting high-fived at the high school by former students of Johnson’s. Setterlof, teachers, parents and so many others have reached out to celebrate and offer their support.
“I want my family to be involved as much as possible,” she says. “We get to go to the College Football Playoff National Championship and my son will go with me to that. We are in the Indy 500 Parade and have pit passes. The Indiana teacher program is very family-involved and structured so they can really be a part of it.”
She also has a close relationship with her students and wants to bring them along for the fun.
“I’m very relationship-driven with my students,” she adds. “I know their families. I don’t like to miss school. I always tell them, I’m your school mama and you’re my school babies. So this recognition is really a reflection of all of us as a class. I tell them everywhere I’m going and everything I’m doing.”
She recently spoke at a “Be a Teacher Day” at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and shared a video of her students giving their advice to future teachers. At a recent college fair, she walked around to each booth and collected swag for her students.
“We have a permanent sub for my classroom so we can have consistency for the students,” she says. “The expectations and routines stay the same. I tell them their pictures are everywhere and they all think they’re famous.”
She’s also found a new cohort, or family, of Indiana Teachers of the Year who have surrounded her with support, advice and friendship.
“They have been an incredible support system. We talk frequently and it’s really a package deal,” Johnson says. “Indiana has worked hard to keep the cohort for Indiana Teacher of the Year together. I’ve truly been surrounded by so many wonderful people. This is going to be a whirlwind journey.”
