High school English and psychology teacher Carly Maloney has been named Utah’s 2024 State Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Kier

I am always excited to share the story of an outstanding educator who has earned recognition for the work with have done with young people. Today I share the story of Carly Maloney, a high school English and psychology teacher from Utah. She has been named her state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.

Carly teaches English, English Language Advancement, and Advanced Placement Psychology at her high school alma mater, Viewpoint High School in Bountiful, Utah. She has also coached soccer  on her campus and served as an advisor for sophomore, junior, and student body officers. She has served as a member of Viewmont High School’s joint staff school and standards-based learning committees. She is a member of the Davis Education Association Board and has been named a recipient of her District’s Teacher Leader Fellowship. The fellowship has taught her more about how to be a teacher leader in her own building, she says, and has given her an opportunity to speak with state leaders at the Capitol about what’s happening in her classroom.

The first thing she wants all of her students to know, Carly declares, 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. One of the signs on one wall in her classroom reads “Grow through what you go through.” Another says, “It’s OK to not be OK.” A third says, “Mental health is as important as physical health,” and a fourth reads, “Be kind to your mind.”

Carly earned  her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from Idaho State University in 2014. She earned her Master’s degree in Learning Experience Design and Educational Technology from Western Governors University in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2018. She is a member of the National Education Association and the American Psychological Association’s Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools.