Carly Maloney’s younger self would not be surprised she’s now a teacher. By the time the Davis School District teacher was 6 years old, she remembers teaching classes to other kids in her neighborhood and assigning homework.
When she was in fourth grade, she told her grandpa she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up. When he challenged her, she wrote an essay arguing that teaching was the most impactful profession.
“This like feisty, bossy, 10-year-old, I was determined to show him that all other professions come through our classroom. And so that’s the impact that teachers have,” she said.
Now a teacher at the same Bountiful high school she graduated from in 2010 — “Once a viking, always a viking,” she said of Viewmont High School — Maloney has been named the 2024 Utah Teacher of the Year. The accolade follows her being named Davis School District’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. She said she feels honored and humbled by the award.
“I think to all of the people that helped me become a teacher and I feel like it’s an opportunity for me to give back to them,” Maloney said of family and fellow educators, some of whom used to be her teachers.
Maloney was selected by a committee of representatives from parent and teacher advocacy organizations, charter schools, the Utah State Board of Education and the 2023 teacher of the year, according to a news release from the state board. As the state’s teacher of the year, Maloney was awarded $10,000 and will compete in a national competition.
‘Grow through what you go through’
Maloney’s classroom has a cozy feel, with some students sitting on couches. Colorful hand-painted masks and posters line the walls. Several multi-colored models of the human brain are on display. As Maloney prepped her AP Psychology students to take a test, she enthusiastically told them to celebrate making mistakes.
“Because do you know what that means? You’re going to learn from that mistake and you’re going to do better the next time,” she declared.
Once they finish the exam, her instructions are to start on correcting any mistakes and identifying how they will remember the right answer next time. The students earn points back on the test by doing this.
“We’re all making mistakes. I’ve made plenty today,” she said, coaching the class. “So when you make your mistake on your multiple choice, we need to get away from that idea of, ‘Oh my word, I’m not good at this, I can’t do this.’ Growth mindset. You can do this.”
In addition to psychology, Maloney also teaches English and English language development for multilingual students.
The first thing she wants all of her students to know is that they have a safe place at school where they belong, their voice matters and they can connect with others. She also wants them to develop resilience.
The signs on one wall in her classroom read “Grow through what you go through,” “It’s OK to not be OK,” “Mental health is as important as physical health” and “Be kind to your mind.”
One of the biggest challenges she sees her students dealing with is mental health. Suicide is the leading cause of death for Utahns ages 10 to 24.
With her English classes, Maloney tries to choose literature showing accessible characters going through challenges. In her psychology class, she said she teaches students about mental illness and “how we, as a society, have gotten better about talking about it, but we still have a long way to go.”
“I think lessons that help them to see grit in action, help them to apply it back to their life, I think those are always really powerful,” she said.
The well-being and future of teachers
Mental health is not only important for students, Maloney said, but also for teachers.
“I feel like this is a job that you could honestly work 24/7. It’s a job that you could pour your whole self into,” Maloney said. “One of the things I continually try to tell teachers — and I’m trying to continue to adopt that advice, as well — is making sure that you take time for you.”
Maloney mentors early career teachers in her school and one of the things she’ll talk with them about is setting boundaries — for example, not taking grading home with them or answering emails after hours.
As Maloney looks to the future of education in Utah, she thinks it will include more leadership opportunities for current teachers. Schools need administrators and district leaders, she said, but they also need teachers who are empowered to stay in their classrooms and lead from there.
“They are the professionals. They also have relevant experience,” Maloney said. “I feel like having someone there next to you who’s going through it with you, those are some of the best mentors and coaches.”
Maloney is a part of the Davis Teacher Leader Fellowship program. The fellowship has taught her more about how to be a teacher leader in her own building and gave her an opportunity to speak with state leaders at the Capitol about what’s happening in her classroom.
In a news release from the state board of education, Viewmont’s Principal Travis Lund wrote that Maloney was one of the “hardest working and most inspiring teachers I have worked with in my 22-year career.”
In addition to being an incredible teacher, a former student wrote that Maloney is “a notable example of kindness and friendship … she takes time to get to know each student and goes out of her way to make sure we feel loved and cared for.”
The two runners up for 2024 Utah Teacher of the year, who both received $4,000, were Midvale Middle School eighth grade math teacher Maxwell Eddington and Mountainside Elementary kindergarten teacher Stephanie Parish.
