Hickman Mills’ Kim Sixta named MO Teacher of the Year: ‘Pressure is a privilege’
When her phone chimed this summer, Kimberly Sixta had already started packing for Moab, Utah.
Sixta, a social studies teacher at Ruskin High School in the Hickman Mills district in South Kansas City, accompanies several students to the Arches National Park home city every year as the school’s Outward Bound chapter advisor. She looks forward annually to rafting, hiking and chatting under the stars with students, some of whom she says have limited experience in nature.
But this time, Sixta’s boss was in her inbox advising her that the red rocks would have to wait; she had just been named the regional teacher of the year, and she had work to do to get to the next level.
“(School administrators) were like, ‘Miss Sixta, although that sounds awesome, I don’t think you understand that this is a once in a lifetime,’” she said. “Like, ‘You’re on a road here.’”
On Sept. 26, Sixta was named Missouri’s Teacher of the Year. She succeeds Lee’s Summit West High School English teacher Jennifer Jones and will represent Missouri in the National Teacher of the Year program for the 2025-2026 school year.
A surprise celebration
The Missouri Teacher of the Year is selectwd by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. In a September press release, the department indicated that Sixta was selected due to the depth of her “civic-focused instruction” and her lifelong impact on students.
Sixta, who has been teaching high school in the Hickman Mills C-1 School District for 28 years, said the recognition came as a total surprise. It’s the second time in the 57-year history of the Teacher of the Year award that a Hickman Mills faculty member has won.
“I’m so humbled by this experience,” Sixta said. “When you’re in the company of so many fantastic educators, it’s just hard to imagine.”
Sixta’s win was announced to her - and the Ruskin High School student body - at a Friday morning assembly in late September. Under the pretense of a back-to-school rules review, the sophomore through senior classes at Ruskin were treated to a stirring drumline performance before a shocked Sixta took the the stage.
When Sixta’s students learned she had won teacher of the year, the whole auditorium leapt to its feet, chanting her name as the Ruskin cheer squad performed.
Sixta said this validation from her school community felt unreal in the best way.
“It’s kind of a blur, actually,” Sixta said. “I went back to watch the video, and it literally brought me to tears. And so many kids have come by all week long… to give me a hug or a high five and just congratulate me.
It just makes you feel like, oh wow, maybe I’m making a difference here.”
“Pressure is a privilege”
Sixta’s entire teaching career has taken place in the Hickman Mills district. Shortly before graduating from Avila University in Kansas City in 1998, she was tapped to teach at the former Hickman Mills High School, where she worked until 2010.
When Ruskin High School opened, Sixta moved to that building, where she continues to deepen and transform the social science curriculum she’s built for nearly three decades. Sixta is currently chair of the social studies department and is the school’s ACT test coordinator, as well as the faculty advisor for National Honor Society, student council and Upward Bound.
She’s currently teaching American Government, which she says is a far - but welcome - cry from her own studies in U.S. and world history.
“I’ve just grown to love it,” Sixta said. “I mean, it’s a tough job, because you’ve got to be true to what you’re doing, and be able to illustrate to kids how the government runs and what their freedoms look like.”
Deepening high schoolers’ understanding of civic engagement has been difficult in the current political climate, but consistently rewarding, Sixta said. She said that she’s always enjoyed working with high school students and older children in general, because they keep her on her toes.
“Pressure is a privilege, so it’s been awesome,” Sixta said. “I don’t think there’s a day that goes by that I’m not laughing and enjoying working with young people.”
Hickman Mills is a “high-stakes testing area,” Sixta said, meaning that faculty members have to juggle the additional pressure of focusing on the long-term impact of student test scores while Hickman Mills works toward full accreditation.
However, Sixta said her students have always impressed her with their intelligence and insight far beyond what can be taught in a textbook.
“They are so resilient,” Sixta said. “They’re savvy with everything. I don’t know if we give kids enough credit, because sometimes I feel like I’m trying to keep up with them, and they just look at the world with a different vibe. It allows us to kind of get out of our comfort zone and see things differently as well.”
Adapting to the journey
Since moving to Ruskin, Sixta has also been teaching leadership courses, where students work in teams on a long-term capstone project to make a tangible difference in the school or local community. The program was loosely defined when Sixta stepped into it, she said. Now it includes a significant college and career readiness component.
“It’s been phenomenal where kids have an opportunity to get out in the city, in their community,” Sixta said.
Past projects have taught students to create a budget, network with community partners and productively experience failure, Sixta said. The leadership course was one of the projects Sixta discussed with members of the state award committee when becoming state teacher of the year.
Sixta was first named Rusking High School’s teacher of the year and then at the district level. She had received both honors before, she said. Advancing to the state-level title required a process she had no familiarity with.
“I turned in a bio, turned in my resume, turned in a few essays…and didn’t think much about it,” Sixta said.
Advancing through the selection process from district to state level allowed Sixta to directly model perseverance to her students, she said.
“There’s been a lot of work, and there’s been a lot of sacrifices,” Sixta said. “Showing them that hard work pays off, and what we’re doing matters. And so I’m pretty excited about that.”
Building a platform
As Sixta continues to navigate a greater level of publicity, she’s staying grounded in the intimacy she says a small district like Hickman Mills can provide for school communities.
At Ruskin, it’s relatively common for members of the faculty and student body to run into each other while out and about in the community, she said. This can feel like being on the clock 24/7, but has also helped her see teaching and learning as a lifelong process.
“Some of the best educators that I have worked with have come through our district,” Sixta said. “...I see a lot of people come back because we really have a family atmosphere.”
Now, finding herself a de facto ambassador for Hickman Mills, Sixta said she’s preparing to use her new platform effectively. Over the next year, Sixta will embark on a whirlwind schedule of speaking engagements – and she’s got a whole new kind of lesson plan in mind.
“There are several things that I think are important in education, thinking about teachers and students and what we can do for them,” Sixta said. “We’re going to see where this goes.”
This story was originally published October 7, 2025 at 6:30 AM.
