Her Story
Carla Neely always knew she would be a teacher. She teaches in the same Cleveland-area community where she grew up, and says she came back on purpose because students in urban schools need great teachers. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Cleveland State University and a master’s from the University of Phoenix, and she is completing a doctorate at Walden University. A former superintendent recalls that when he asked why she chose to teach in some of the district’s hardest-to-staff schools, she told him, “Even though every child needs a great teacher, those students need it the most.”
She began in 1999 in the East Cleveland City School District, where she taught every grade from 1st through 5th over 17 years, and joined the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in the mid-2010s, teaching 4th through 7th grade math, science and social studies. This is her first year at Andrew J. Rickoff School, and her principal says she has already become “an irreplaceable part of the Rickoff family.” Students who are not in her classes drop in during lunch and planning time, and she runs a computer science club.
Beyond the Classroom
In 2022 Neely was an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow with the U.S. Department of Energy, placed in the office of U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen working on STEM policy. She was a 2024 Global Teacher Prize finalist, received a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching in 2024, and won the NSTA Shell Urban Science Educator Development Award. Infosys Foundation USA gave her its 2023 CS Excellence in Teaching Award, and she is an NSTA STEM Fellow and a National STEM Fellow with the National Network of State Teachers of the Year.
She serves on the Board of Directors of the Computer Science Teachers Association and as an NSTA district director, mentors new teachers in Ohio’s Resident Educator program and CSTA’s Equity Fellows, and facilitated micro:bit sessions at the Infosys Pathfinders Summer Institute. She has presented at the CSTA Conference and the Ohio STEM Innovation Summit, hosts family STEM nights, and has helped her students present projects to school boards and community leaders. She writes grants for supplies, flexible seating and STEM equipment, and her principal notes she buys snacks for hungry students out of her own pocket.
Philosophy Into Practice
Neely’s signature project, “From Tank to Table,” had students design and build a classroom aquaponics and hydroponics system with sensors, microcontrollers and coding kits. They graphed water-quality data, wrote code to automate the garden and adjusted pH levels like engineers, and grew vegetables they could eat. Teams assigned roles such as researcher, designer, coder and presenter, and one student who loved art designed the system’s layout while a shy student became the data analyst.
At the start of the year students complete interest surveys and a multiple intelligences survey, and they choose how to show mastery, for example by building a plant or animal cell as a digital design, physical model or interactive presentation. When her frog dissection lab frustrated students, she regrouped them and added a 3D interactive frog anatomy tool. Her room has bean bags, cushions and rugs rather than rows of desks, and her weeks begin with a mindfulness activity.
“When students know their teacher believes in them, they begin to believe in themselves.”Carla Neely
In Her Own Words
“Education is the most powerful tool for change, and teachers are the architects of that transformation.”Carla Neely
“My call to action is simple: teach boldly.”Carla Neely
“Altering instruction based on evidence is not a sign of weakness. It is the hallmark of a reflective educator committed to equity and excellence.”Carla Neely
What Others Said
“She is a mentor, a role model, and a safe haven.”Nilsa Walker, principal, Andrew J. Rickoff School
“Ms. Neely demonstrated an unwavering commitment to educating and serving the whole child.”Eric Gordon, former CEO and superintendent, Cleveland Metropolitan School District
“Carla’s leadership consistently inspires both educators and administrators to rethink what is possible in teaching and learning.”Annalies Corbin, Ph.D., founder and CEO, PAST Foundation
“I truly feel I hit the “teacher jackpot” when I was placed in her class.”Carmen Phillips, former student