Middle school STEM teacher Todd Knight of Meridian, Idaho, has been named his state’s 2022 Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Todd Knight

It is always my pleasure to share the story of a teacher who has earned honors for their stellar work in the classroom. One of these is Todd Knight, a middle school STEM teacher from Meridian, Idaho. He has been named his state’s 2022 Teacher of the Year.

Todd is a native of Meridian. After his graduation from Meridian High School, Todd earned his Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Boise State University in 2008. He earned his Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction in STEM Education from Concordia University in 2015.

After substitute teaching for a year and a half in Meridian’s West Ada School District, he taught fourth grade at the District’s Star Elementary and then fifth grade at River Valley Elementary School. In 2014, Todd accepted a teaching position at Crossroads Middle School. There he currently teaches physical science, engineering technology and robotics, and coding to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. For the past five years, has served as the Digital Technology Lead and Chair of the Science Department. Previously, he also served as the Math Intervention Lead and as a mentor teacher in science.

As a teacher of middle schoolers, Todd says he strives to relate the content he teaches to the everyday lives of his students. “I take a hands-on approach and try and get students to see that learning is not just sitting in a desk doing book work,” he explains. “We talk about learning permits and learning how to drive, then we start talking about how a motor works or why there are spoilers on some vehicles,” he continues. “We start looking at their life and relating it to the curriculum and the content that I’m teaching.”

Good work, Todd!