Montana Announces Its 2023 Teacher Of The Year! Do You Know Her?

I want you to think back—for some of us it's WAY back—but I want you to think about who your most influential teacher was. Maybe it was in elementary school or high school, perhaps it was band or choir—whatever the case, who was it?

I guess I would say there are a couple teachers that really influenced me; one being my band teacher Mrs. Moe (she was a lot of kids' favorite), the other being my second grade teacher Mrs. Gensrich. Both were kind, patient, and made sure their classes were memorable. I still sing that dang dinosaur rap song from second grade.

The state of Montana recently picked a teacher as their favorite. Ok, maybe favorite is a tough word, but when you get nominated for AND win teacher of the year, I think you can be called the favorite for the time being.

So let me introduce you to Catherine Matthews (Mrs. Matthews to some). Mrs. Matthews is Montana's 2023 Teacher Of the Year! Mrs. Matthews is a special education teacher at Hyalite Elementary School.

Those that teach special education have a heart made of gold. When I worked with preschool special education kids, I can tell you right now, I fell in love with each and every one of them. They all had their sweet traits that would make me laugh every single day. So for this award to go to Mrs. Matthews is a real honor.

We thank you, Mrs. Matthews, for all of your hard work and dedication. Because of teachers like you, our youth have another day of smiles and sunshine!

Congratulations to Montana's 2023 Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Catherine Matthews!