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A passion for teaching: Williams kindergarten teacher Natalie Mann named finalist for Coconino County Teacher of the Year

Williams Elementary School kindergarten teacher Natalie Mann gets a group hug from her class. Mann is a finalist for Coconino County Teacher of the Year.  Ryan Williams/WGCN

Williams Elementary School kindergarten teacher Natalie Mann gets a group hug from her class. Mann is a finalist for Coconino County Teacher of the Year. Ryan Williams/WGCN

WILLIAMS, Ariz. - Many know her as a kindergarten teacher. Or some may recognize her from the food bank. Or wasn't she the woman serving food at the community dinner?

Natalie Mann is no stranger to the community of Williams. She is not content just teaching her students and going home. She believes in reaching the whole child, seeing where they live and being a part of their lives, and for this reason she has been selected as one of three finalists for Coconino County Teacher of the Year.

"She is a teacher-leader," said Williams Elementary-Middle School Principal Carissa Morrison. "She is focused on the classroom and doing an excellent job there, but she is also able to see a broader school and district picture and tries to make a positive impact beyond just the classroom."

The Coconino County Superintendent's Office annually puts on the Teacher of the Year (TOY) event, which is a county-wide teacher recognition program that recognizes the contributions of Coconino County public and charter school teachers. Nominees must have taught five or more years in public or charter schools.

"She cares about not only her students' well-being but her colleague's well-being too," Morrison said.

Mann has taught in Williams for 16 years, the majority of the time as a kindergarten teacher. She began teaching in Wisconsin and then moved to Arizona to teach sixth grade in Tuba City. After six years she moved to Tempe and taught English as a Second Language for five years.

During her summer breaks, Mann worked at the Grand Canyon and she and her husband decided to relocate to Williams in 1990.

"It was hard to find jobs," Mann said. "Many years you couldn't get work in this town. I subbed for a year, had my babies and ran daycare from my home."

Mann said she was glad to be able to stay home when her two children were young. She planned to stay home longer but was offered a midyear sixth grade position when her youngest child was three.

"After that semester they asked if I wanted to go to kindergarten," Mann said. "There was just one kindergarten position and it was half day at that time. So I did two classes every day and I loved it. So I've been here ever since."

Mann is now one of the senior teachers at the elementary school. She uses her experience to not only teach her students, but to also mentor other teachers and support the administration as the president of the Williams Education Association.

"She's very supportive of building a positive collaborative environment at our school," Morrison said. "Part of that was demonstrated by her supporting me. Not everyone does that with a new administrator."

Mann said she believes it is important to bridge the gap between new administrators and the staff. She said it has been a unique year having a new elementary principal and new superintendent/high school principal.

"I want to be a bridge so they have somebody they can go to," Mann said. "I want them to feel that they can come to me and get impartial advice, be objective and be able to give opinions based on what's best for the district and not personal agenda."

As a kindergarten teacher, Mann has seen many changes to the curriculum and content over the years.

"What's amazing is all they are asking of kids these days," Mann said. "If anyone told 15 years ago all that they would be doing in kindergarten I would have said no, it's not possible. But it's amazing. They are leaving kindergarten now reading, writing, adding and subtracting."

Mann said the most rewarding part of her job is seeing student growth. She enjoys watching them come into her classroom shy and insecure and leave proud and eager to continue their learning.

"I fit the fun things in," Mann said. "Because I want them to love school. This is the foundation. I thought it would be pushing them too hard but it's not. We just do it with a lot of songs and movement activities. I'm amazed, they keep raising the bar but the kids keep meeting the expectations."

Morrison said Mann is eager to implement new strategies in the classroom. She said Mann went to two top performing schools to shadow the teachers and learn new techniques.

"She impressed me with the energy she devotes," Morrison said. "It is a real taxing job and she came back wanting to try new things, wanting to keep further improving, and not get stuck in similar ways of instructing."

Morrison said Mann includes thinking routines into her classroom. This technique involves pushing the students to dig deeper to help them think critically about an object or idea and express their ideas with others.

"I watched her discuss Goldilocks with her students," Morrison said. "They were grappling with concepts of good and bad, kind of philosophical things. They were making connections to their own lives and evaluating the actions of the character."

Mann said she is honored to be a finalist in the Coconino County Teacher of the Year, but is uncomfortable being in the spotlight.

"I don't find myself better than any other teacher," Mann said. "I just hope I can give attention to what is going on here in Williams. We are doing some really neat things and I want to highlight that. So I'm accepting the recognition not for myself but for all the teachers I work with."

Mann said she already feels like she has won because of the support she has gotten from the administration and her peers.

"I got such nice letters from other teachers and my principal," Mann said. "I already feel like a winner. They were really beautiful, incredible letters."

Mann said she hopes the recognition will help parents, community members and those outside the community to see the good works going on in Williams and the schools.

"The fact that both of our administrators are enthusiastic about being here, I want to keep them here," Mann said. "I want the community to know how well they're doing and how much they really care because I want the whole community to be proud of our school. I love Williams, and I just hope I can give attention to what is going on here."

The Coconino County School Superintendent's Office will announce the winner of the Coconino County Teacher of the Year at an awards ceremony April 20 in Flagstaff.


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