Teacher of The Year
This month we celebrate two serious rockstars- Robyn Newton, the outgoing Vermont Teacher of the Year for 2023 and Aziza Malik, the incoming Vermont Teacher of the year for 2024. This makes it three years running for PATH wellness leaders to earn this honor. Coincidence?
Last week, we sat down with these two outstanding women so they could give us a glimpse into what it’s like to represent the state’s school community and how wellness factors into their lives.
Robyn, a physical education teacher of 29 years, makes wellness a priority in every aspect of her life. For her, movement is the key to everything. “Whenever I'm feeling stressed or overwhelmed, you know, I'm always getting out and being active. I get to move, enjoy, and have all that passion, with my kids every day.”
For Aziza, her wellness practice centers around mindfulness and being in nature. She uses the ritual of drinking tea to ground her - and brings tea time to her students as well. For movement, Aziza is all about group fitness and Zumba with her husband. “I don't like to do exercise in isolation.”
So, how does one become Teacher of the year? According to both of these rockstars, it’s by putting in the work, but it doesn’t happen without their colleagues and the whole school community. “It’s truly about community.” Malik says. “Alot of my work is what's called Place-based Education, so that's really about breaking outside of just the walls of your classroom, to connect with other people in your school. So, your colleagues, all different grade levels, students to students… and also connecting to the place, including nature.”
For Robyn, it’s about bringing a lot of programming and passion, sitting on committees, writing grants and going above and beyond. “The goal for me was to just make sure I could provide them with as much opportunity, much equipment, and facilities.”
Our Vermont teacher of the year joins the other 54 selected teachers from across the country and our US territories, in a trip to Washington DC and a ceremony at the White House with the President and First Lady. For Aziza, that honor hasn’t happened yet, but Robyn says it’s an amazing experience. “A lot of times, you know, educators don't get to be put up on that pedestal and say thank you, and really just be elevated. it's really important to elevate the teachers, because when we elevate teachers, we elevate our learning.”
As we come to the end of this year and look forward to 2024, we celebrate both Robyn and Aziza, and all of our Vermont school community. In our eyes, you are all ROCKSTARS!
