Receiving the surprise of the year in front of her home, Success High School English Teacher Kat Malone was named Round Rock ISD’s 2021 Secondary Teacher of the Year (TOY). She received the good news during a visit from Superintendent Steve Flores, Ph.D., Success Principal Thomasine Stewart, and District staff.
Malone was named the Teacher of the Year at Success and was selected among 20 secondary educators to represent the District at the regional competition. She has been an educator for 12 years, six of which have been serving the Success community in her current role.
“I became a high school English teacher because my high school English teacher told me to be one,” Malone said. “I’ve never looked back. So many of our students have been told that they can’t. They can’t learn. They can’t be successful. They can’t do the work. I want to be part of the team that helps students see that they can do the work, have great ideas, learn, grow, and be successful.”
Malone believes in the power of reading and that the most important thing that she can do as an educator is to foster a love of reading in both themselves and their students. She also believes that helping students develop confidence within themselves is an essential piece to supporting them to find success.
“I want my students to have confidence in their self-worth,” Malone said. “I have remarkable people step through my classroom door each day. It is an honor and a privilege to be able to serve them. I want them to know that they are capable and worthy.”
Malone will continue to the 2021 Region 13 Secondary Teacher of the Year competition, where he will represent Round Rock ISD in hopes of becoming the 2021 Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year.
“Kat Malone has bloomed into an outstanding teacher and advocate for students,” Stewart said. “She is highly effective as a leader not only of the ELA program but throughout the entire campus. Mrs. Malone always puts the interest of her students’ education as a priority and always strives to find different ways to make learning English more interesting to her students.”
