2024 Utah Teacher of the Year Carly Maloney highlights teacher leadership, mental health and multilingual support

Carly Maloney, the 2024 Utah State Teacher of the Year, told the Utah State Board of Education on Aug. (date not specified) that her platform centers on teacher leadership, student and teacher mental health, and support for multilingual learners.

Maloney said her work since winning the state honor has included media appearances, virtual and in-person professional development with the cohort of 55 state and territorial teachers of the year, a visit to Google’s campus to study educational technology and AI, and meetings with state leaders to advocate for classroom-focused teacher leadership. “I created a website so that I could celebrate, so that teachers could be nominated by community members, parents, students, and that I could go surprise them,” Maloney said.

Why it matters: Maloney told the board that centering teacher leadership in the classroom helps with retention and recruitment and amplifies teacher expertise in policymaking and community engagement. She described taking teachers’ perspectives to an educator roundtable hosted by Utah’s first lady, Abby Cox, and said those conversations informed a special issue of Utah Business titled Elevating Education distributed at the Show Up Utah conference.

Most important facts: Maloney described outreach to student teachers statewide, classroom visits where district and state leaders observed AP Psychology student presentations, and participation in national events including a visit to Washington, D.C., meetings with the U.S. Department of Education about multilingual learners and AP/ACT testing, and the first-ever state dinner for teachers of the year at the White House. She said she recorded a mental-health segment with PBS that aired in May for mental health awareness month and participated in educator “space camp” with NASA and astronaut-led sessions.

Supporting details: Maloney emphasized three lessons from her year: the central role of teachers in preparing future professionals, the value of a growth mindset in learning from mistakes, and the importance of teamwork and mentorship. She said her “lead from the classroom” approach encourages teachers to mentor new teachers, lead in-building professional development, and act as education ambassadors. “We need teacher leaders who lead from their classroom,” she told the board.

Context and background: Maloney said she used the Teacher of the Year platform for classroom-focused recognition — surprising nominated teachers with small gifts and public acknowledgment — and to create social media and web pages to elevate exemplary classroom practice. She referenced collaboration with the 2023 Utah Teacher of the Year, Chad Wernick, and with the state coordinator for the Teacher of the Year program, Katie Jones.

Remarks from board members: Board member Norton introduced Maloney and recounted being inspired by finalists’ application essays. Vice Chair Hart praised Maloney as “a wonderful ambassador for teachers” and encouraged board members to attend the upcoming Teacher of the Year awards banquet in September. Maloney announced the 2025 finalists had been named (no further details provided).

Limitations: Specific dates for many of Maloney’s events were not specified during her remarks, and she referenced multiple organizations and officials (for example, the U.S. Department of Education and congressional staffers) without formal documents presented to the board.

Looking ahead: Maloney asked the board to continue supporting the Teacher of the Year program as a way to grow teacher leadership in Utah’s schools. “By supporting it, you are doing a good thing because you’re growing teacher leadership in the state of Utah,” she said.