Leah McDonald

Leah McDonald decided to be a music teacher when she was 8 years old, and she’s never looked back.

“I became a teacher because of my love and passion for music,” McDonald said. “I teach music each day because I love children and making music with them.”

McDonald, recipient of the 2025 Medal for Excellence in Elementary Teaching, teaches music to 750 students in grades K-5 at Heritage Elementary School in Edmond.

“My students do more than study music: they become musicians,” McDonald said.

Every one of her third, fourth and fifth grade students plays the ukulele — including those with limited fine motor skills, who use adaptive instruments and add-on devices.

Karissa Parkhurst, choral director at Edmond Santa Fe High School, said McDonald has had an extraordinary impact on her career since the two first met when Parkhurst was a student teacher.

“She showed me how magical, compassionate and lively an elementary music classroom can be,” Parkhurst said. “She demonstrated a flourishing career that viewed elementary teaching as the great honor and responsibility it is.”

McDonald, who earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Oklahoma State University, has taught music for 27 years. She’s spent 26 of them in Edmond, the city where she grew up. In 2004, she was Edmond Public Schools Teacher of the Year and a state teacher of the year finalist.

Former Heritage Elementary Principal Cathey Bugg said McDonald takes her instruction far beyond music.

“Leah uniquely connects lessons to each grade level’s regular classroom Oklahoma Academic Standards,” Bugg said. “Literacy is embedded in every lesson. Students read scores, lyrics and interact with children’s literature.”

McDonald has served in leadership positions in her school and in the state. As elementary music district facilitator, she guides and mentors other Edmond music educators, and she chairs her school’s committee for the Great Expectations professional development program. McDonald directs the Edmond Youth Chorus and was the Oklahoma Music Educators Association president from 2021-23.

“She is a gift to our profession and to her students — past, present, and future — and we should consider ourselves fortunate that she calls Oklahoma home,” Parkhurst said.

Medal for Excellence recipient Leah McDonald is a music teacher at Heritage Elementary in the Edmond Public Schools district.

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