Vivian Gates, Cottonwood High School
Apr 13, 2026, 12:52 PM | Updated: Apr 14, 2026, 1:28 pm
“Ms. Gates is an incredible English teacher and Cottonwood High School is lucky to have her. She teaches a range of students, from students who are brand new to the country, students with disabilities, and students who are in her AP classes. Ms. Gates puts the same great effort and care into every student, every day. She is always thinking of engaging, supportive lessons that can teach students real-world skills to be literate, high-achieving adults. She is very thoughtful about every student, tailoring instruction to meet their specific needs.
She is on many different committees throughout the school as well as the cross country assistant coach. She is the English team lead, representing her team through various topics and issues that come up throughout the school year.
This year, she worked to secure the funding for and sent 20 students to Story Con this year to further their writing.
Ms. Gates is beloved by her students and works hard to help them grow. Here are some quotes from her students.
“She’s really good at teaching because she connects with her students and asks for lots of feedback from us about whether we think whatever shes teaching is helping us learn, i love having the opportunity to be taking her class.”
“She does a great job at connecting what we’re learning to the real world and also does a good job at helping the class connect through group activities.”
“She makes class fun. She engages with the students and is friendly and respectful with us.”
“I like that she is passionate about what she teaches and creates a welcoming and safe environment for her students.”
“I like that she listens to you, and that she actually takes your feedback into consideration.”
“It is relevant and always directed to our age group, like no ever teacher has done it before. Ms Gates’ ability to relate her lessons to the real world in a seamless way is unmatched.”
“She is very efficient with her lesson plans and makes me feel like I belong in class.”
“Mrs. Gates is incredibly nice and funny and it’s very evident that she loves her students. She works so hard to make class enjoyable for everyone and nobody has anything bad to say.”
“Talkative and takes careful consideration into the way she teaches stuff, showing what I would consider to be a high amount of empathy towards students”
“I love her relatable attitude towards school and work, that not everything makes sense sometimes and not every strategy towards schoolwork is going to work for everyone, that’s why have to find different ways to learn, to find the best strategy for you.”
-Riley Hanni
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