A Teacher at the Top

After her first day of first grade, Kathy Mellor didn’t come home. As dinnertime approached, her father found her on the school playground. “He picked me up off the jungle gym and he asked how my day was and I said, ‘I loved it!’” Mellor says. “And he said, ‘Well, you stay in school so your hands don’t look like these,’ and he had rough hands.”

This father-daughter conversation became a defining moment in Mellor’s life. She spent the next five decades in the classroom, as either a student or teacher, and eventually emerged as one of the top educators in Rhode Island. In April, she was named National Teacher of the Year by Scholastic Inc., a children’s book publisher, for her lifelong dedication, enthusiasm and innovations in education.

The process began last fall, when Mellor’s colleagues nominated her for Rhode Island Teacher of the Year. She completed a 15-page application and was named the state’s top teacher by a committee of local educators. She began the process again at the national level and emerged as one of four finalists who made 15-minute presentations to a 20-member selection committee. “It’s been magical,” she says of her award. “It’s been a fairy tale.”

At an early age, Mellor committed her life to teaching others, earning two education degrees at the University of Rhode Island and a master’s in teaching at Brown University. She just wrapped up her 26th year in the classroom, 19 of which have been spent as an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teacher at Davisville Middle School in North Kingston, R.I. (pop. 26,326). In addition to traditional lessons, Mellor discusses topics such as conflict resolution, choosing good friends and current events with students with varying proficiencies in English. “It’s extremely rewarding because I get them at all different points and get to see a tremendous amount of growth,” says Mellor, 55.

For nearly two decades, she’s been at the forefront of designing and implementing an ESL program that doesn’t isolate immigrant students from their American peers and keeps them engaged and excited about learning. It’s because of this work that President George Bush recognized her for achievements during a springtime ceremony at the White House.

“She embodies the qualities that all students and parents hope for in a teacher,” Bush says. “Kathy redesigned her district’s ESL program to better integrate students with their English-speaking classmates. And the educational benefits of her innovation have been clear. As the parents of one of Mrs. Mellor’s students wrote, ‘My daughter’s English improved unbelievably that year.’

“Because she understands the importance of her work, her energy and spirit have never waned. As Kathy put it, ‘After many years, I still look forward to Monday mornings.’”

Through June, Mellor’s Monday mornings will be drastically different. Instead of reporting to the classroom, Mellor is taking a year off to serve full time as the 54th National Teacher of the Year. She will speak on behalf of America’s teachers as she addresses groups, participates in panels and tours educational facilities internationally.

The main message she hopes to deliver is that partnerships are crucial to educating America’s children. “It’s not about me; it’s about teaching,” she says of the honor. “It’s about every teacher in the country and how we work and how much we need support from parents and the community.

“I don’t think I arrived at this point without being a good colleague,” she says. “I am partners with my colleagues and administrators; I’m partners with my students and I’m partners with my parents. A lot of times, adversarial relationships will develop between teachers and parents. If we work together as a team, we can achieve the same goal.”

Beverly Keel is an editor at American Profile.

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