We nominate Mrs. Tammy Botelho, sixth grade teacher at Sage Hills Elementary in Saratoga Springs, UT. Mrs. Botelho is one of a kind. We could not pass up the opportunity to nominate her and honor her for all of the amazing things she is doing with her students. She is one of those rare teachers that stands out among the others because of her passion and clear love of her job and the students she works with every day. She has the most unique ability to teach, inspire, and encourage each student in their own individual style and way, despite having a large classroom full of students. The time and effort she puts into these students, and the skill she uses to customize that process for each student, is simply remarkable. She makes an effort to understand how each student learns best. We have never seen anything like it.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about her is her love for the students and the way she instills a sense of worth and value in each one of them. She speaks to them as if they are the most important people in the world and how they will each make huge contributions to it. She is as focused on their potential and who they will become, as she is on their academic success.

This year she has taught the students about heroes, and what real heroes looks like. She has introduced them to and studied people like Anne Frank, World War 2 veterans, local heroes like Officers Cory Wride & Doug Barney, and many others, instilling a sense of respect, and teaching life lessons that will never be forgotten.

Mrs. Botelho is a master of making learning fun. It is not uncommon for her to show up to class in character, from ‘Lady Gaga’, to characters from Greek mythology. She has found ways to make even the more boring topics interesting through her unconventional, but most effective methods of teaching. Her classroom is full of hands on learning, and unforgettable moments that will remain with her students for a lifetime.

Our daughter, despite anxiety, fear, and self-doubt when entering the sixth grade, has flourished in this classroom and has, with Mrs. Botelho’s guidance, moved away from all this to one who absolutely loves going to school every day and who can’t wait to see her teacher. There is nothing to compare the growth we are seeing in our daughter in so many areas. We attribute her growth to the time and experiences she is having with Mrs. Botelho. I’m certain we speak on behalf of every parent and student in her class; that she is hands down the best teacher we have ever known. We only wish she could be cloned!

–Richard, Darby & Bailey Dunn.