P.O. Box 202501 • Helena, MT 59620-2501
Putting Montana Students First
The mission of the Montana Teacher of the Year Program is to elevate student success by empowering classroom innovation and enhancing pathways to teacher leadership.
A+ The TOY Program elevates student success by celebrating teachers who honor individual student strengths and each child’s unique abilities.
A+ The TOY Program empowers classroom innovation by recognizing teachers who are responsive to the complex realities that define Montana’s diverse and unique classrooms across the state.
A+ The TOY Program enhances pathways to teacher leadership by creating teacher ambassadors at the local, state, and national level to connect classrooms to the community.
Catherine Matthews currently teaches the Early Childhood Special Education Preschool Classroom at Hyalite Elementary School in Bozeman, Montana. Matthews has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Montana State University Bozeman and a Master of Science in Special Education from Montana State University Billings.
She has been a Montana Special Education Preschool Teacher for twenty years and is the mother to two amazing boys who are always willing to help with prepping activities and celebrations for her students. Matthews also operates an organic farm, and donkey rescue, and is an apiarist (beekeeper) in the Gallatin Valley, striving to provide local, farm-to-market, healthy food options and learning opportunities for her students, families, and local community.
2023 Montana Teacher of the Year Finalists
2023 Montana Teacher of the Year Nomination Form
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