Melissa Montoya, Kaysville Elementary

“Melissa teaches her students with so much love and compassion. Teaching is her second career (third, if you count being a mom) and she started teaching out of a desire to make an impact in the lives of children after our children had some difficult experiences. Melissa has an uncanny ability to get on the child’s level and help them feel respected and understood. For this reason, her Principals (previous and current) often end up placing little ones with behavioral challenges stemming from difficult life circumstances. In fact, her Principal told me personally that her love for the kids shines through by the way they interact with her.

Though the Teacher’s Union restricts how many hours teachers can be required to stay in class, Melissa dedicates her life to these kids so much that she is routinely the first teacher to arrive and the last one to leave; she spends countless hours creating specific, customized lesson plans for her students who need special attention. When we are out in the community, we routinely have parents come up to us to thank her for the impact she made in their childrens’ lives by helping them discover a love for learning.”

-Justin Montoya