Educational Studies alumna named Educator of the Year
For alumna Melanie Gohn, M.Ed. ’12, teaching is more than just a job — it’s a lifelong calling. She’s been a teacher for more than 25 years, the last 11 in the Boerne Independent School District near San Antonio.
For her dedication to students and the profession of teaching, she recently received the 2025 Elementary Educator of the Year Award from the Association of Texas Professional Educators and the 2025 SPARK Award from the Alliant Group for innovative science teaching.
Gohn said her passion for teaching started while she was a camp counselor during her undergraduate years, where she realized how rewarding it was to work with children.
It wasn’t until she studied for her Master of Education at the University of Washington Bothell’s School of Educational Studies, however, that she became more reflective about her teaching practice.
The path to UW Bothell
For her undergraduate degree, Gohn studied at Texas State University, and she said she was unsure about what she wanted to do afterward. She didn’t know what to declare for her major so tried a variety of classes across different subjects. After taking classes in education, she realized teaching was her calling.
“It just clicked,” Gohn said. “I knew it was what I was supposed to do.”
After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in interdisciplinary studies, Gohn immediately started teaching in Texas, then a few years later moved to the North Puget Sound region and began working for Everett Public Schools. It was during her time there that she was inspired by colleagues to go to graduate school.
“There was a group of teachers at my school at Woodside Elementary in Bothell, and we decided that it would be fun to get our master’s degrees,” Gohn explained. “We just thought, ‘Let’s push ourselves, let’s do it!’”
Soon, they were all enrolled in the Master of Education program at UW Bothell.
Mindset and experience
At first, it was a challenge for Gohn to get back into the mindset of a student, but she soon found out her experience in the classroom was invaluable. Earning her degree while also working allowed her to focus on changing her teaching practices immediately.
“We’d go to classes at night, then we would use whatever we were learning in our classroom,” she said. “So you’re not just going to college and writing papers. You’re embedding it into what you’re doing in your work.”
Gohn said her time at UW Bothell tripled her confidence in her teaching ability, especially once she saw how her learning had a positive impact on her classroom where the children were blossoming.
Through the three years of her degree, Gohn’s mindset as a teacher changed, and she said she became much more of an intentional practitioner. “I’m constantly reflecting on my practice and what I’m teaching my students — what’s working and what’s not.”
More than a decade later, she still carries that same reflective mindset into her work as an elementary school science and math teacher.
The value of making a mistake
Gohn said she is constantly looking to hone her craft and find the best ways to teach her students.
“I tell my kids that I’m still learning, and they say ‘What?! But you’re a teacher!’ And I say ‘Exactly!’ I’m still learning new things about how the brain develops and best practices for working with children.”
A key part of her practice, Gohn explained, is having a positive mindset towards failure, something she also shares with the children she teaches.
“I tell them failure is a way of learning. I tell them about Dr. Seuss, and how he was rejected — I think it was 41 times — before he was published. I’ll even make a mistake in front of them and say ‘Oh my gosh, Ms. Gohn just made a mistake. Let me fix it.’
“I’m modeling that it’s okay to make mistakes and that it’s proof of learning.”
I’m constantly reflecting on my practice and what I’m teaching my students — what’s working and what’s not.
An award-winning professional
When Gohn received the 2025 Elementary Educator of the Year Award, she said she was lost for words.
“It means everything,” Gohn said. “I know that I give my whole heart to this, and for other people to notice that I give 100% to my career and my kiddos — for somebody else to see that — it was so special. It’s probably the highlight of my career.”
This year, Gohn also won a SPARK Award for increasing student engagement with her innovative lessons. “I can’t do science out of a workbook,” she said. “I have to think outside the box to make classes engaging for the kids.”
When asked what topic her students enjoyed the most, Gohn said that learning about space was always engaging due to the creativity involved in teaching it. For one lesson, Gohn turned her workroom into a completely dark room by placing black paper on the walls. She then attached glow-in-the-dark stars to the ceiling in the patterns of constellations.
After entering the room through a “special portal,” Gohn said some of the children felt like they were floating in space as they pointed to the glowing stars and called out the constellations they could see.
Makings of a successful teacher
Gohn believes one of the most important attributes of good teachers is being dedicated to their work and to the students. “All children deserve an accomplished teacher,” she said, “so you’re going to invest time in getting to know them and what makes them tick.”
For Gohn, this means her relationships with children extend outside of the classroom. “I try to be their person — you know, if they need somebody in their life who’s their cheerleader who’s going to have their backs,” she said. “I want them to know I’m in their life, that I’m their person if they need one.
“It’s not like you’re in my classroom for one year, and then I say ‘Bye, see you later.’ I’ll go to soccer games for current students, and I’ll see former students. They run up to me, and I love it.
“That’s pure joy right there. You feel like a rock star.”