Eugene teacher wins OnPoint award with year of rent paid

Ashley Reich’s classroom at Holt Elementary School just brought Eugene a regional education prize with real financial weight: a year of mortgage or rent payments, plus $2,500 for her school. OnPoint Community Credit Union named Reich, a fourth-grade teacher in Eugene School District 4J, its 2026 K-5 Educator of the Year.

The honor was part of OnPoint’s annual Prize for Excellence in Education, a program that this year will distribute an additional $193,000 to K-12 educators and schools. OnPoint said the prize has awarded more than $1 million to more than 350 local educators and schools since 2010, and that 2026 marked the 17th annual cycle. The contest accepted nominations from Feb. 17 through April 7, with the winners scheduled to be announced May 20.

For Lane County, Reich’s recognition is more than a personal win. It is a reminder of how much of modern teaching depends on extra effort that often goes unseen and underpaid. The prize is designed to reward educators who use innovative approaches to inspire students and strengthen their communities, and it also gives direct classroom support. The four educator winners each received mortgage or rent paid for one full year and $2,500 for their schools, while runners-up received $5,000 and a $1,500 donation to their schools.

Reich’s work at Holt shows why she stood out. The school’s staff directory lists her as a fourth-grade teacher, and school posts show her involved in communications and fundraising-related efforts. Her classroom style also appears to lean heavily on student participation and creativity. Reich has posted Holt testing videos from 2024 and 2025 on YouTube, along with a staff-made “Twelfth Day of Winter” video and a Holt welcome-back assembly video, giving families a glimpse of a teacher who builds connection through music and student-made media.

That matters in Eugene, where schools continue to manage tight budgets, staffing strain and rising expectations for what classrooms should deliver. Reich’s prize-funded boost does not solve those larger pressures, but it points to what educators say they need more of: practical support, room for innovation and resources that reach both teachers and students. In a county where every school is being asked to do more, Holt Elementary now has one more example of the kind of teaching that can make a local classroom stand out.