Crystal Meashey, a fourth-grade teacher at Lancaster Country Day School (LCDS) and at the Horizons at Lancaster Country Day School program, has been named as one of four recipients of the 2023 Lyn McNaught Teacher Award.

Named for the former executive director of Horizons at New Canaan Country School and the first executive director of Horizons National, the honor is awarded to educators who have excelled in Horizons' classrooms by providing exemplary opportunities for young people across the country.

Horizons is a public-private partnership between Lancaster Country Day School and the School District of Lancaster. Each summer, a new cohort of 15 kindergarten students from George Washington Elementary and Elizabeth Martin Elementary schools are recruited, and those same students come back summer after summer through eighth grade. Many students have fallen behind in reading and math as a result of the pandemic, and these challenges are multiplied for students from communities experiencing educational inequity. Horizons exists to accelerate learning recovery. Students gain an average of six to 10 weeks in reading and math over the course of a summer.

Meashey joined Horizons at LCDS in the summer of 2016 with its kindergarten cohort. Since then, she has spent every summer learning and building relationships with the same cohort, which is now in seventh grade. Meashey is also a mentor to newer Horizons teachers, helping with lesson planning, ideas and classroom management. At Lancaster Country Day School, she continually advocates for the program, which incldues recruiting new teachers and helping to find resources and spaces each summer.

The Lyn McNaught Teacher Awards were presented at the annual Lyn McNaught Teacher Award Luncheon celebration during Horizons National's 2023 annual conference in Albuquerque, N.M., which convenes program leaders, teachers and board members from more than 70 Horizons programs in 20 states.