Teacher of the Year

Fabra’s Gohn chosen Teacher of the Year

Melanie Gohn tried to ignore her ringing phone that day. In the middle of class, she winced, knowing she would have to disrupt her lesson to take the call. She answered ... and will forever be glad she did.

The call turned out to be worth $5,000 — accompanied by news she’d been chosen “Teacher Of The Year” by the Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE).

“I was very shocked,” Fabra Elementary School’s Gohn said of the April 16 call, announcing she was the Elementary Division winner of the ATPE’s Charles Pickitt Educator of the Year award. “It’s very flattering, and it’s very validating.”

A 25-year veteran of teaching with the past 11 spent in Boerne ISD, Gohn is a second- grade teacher at Fabra who loves “being in the classroom. It’s what I love to do, working with kids.”

One of 40 nominees in the elementary category for the ATPE award, Gohn received word in late March she made the top three finalists. Following an April 5 Zoom interview with judges, she took that call on April 16 and received the good news.

ATPE selects five Educators of the Year, for top administrator, associate, elementary, secondary and special services.

Notified in April, Gohn will be among the guests of honor in July at the annual APTE Summit in Austin.

“We do have a passion for kids, and for inspiring kids to be better, and do better,” she said. “When you do get that recognition, it's the icing on the cake.”

member-Gohn serves as the membership chair for Boerne ATPE and the campus rep for Fabra. Fellow ATPE member Ona Beth Day, president of Boerne ATPE, nominated her.

Gohn said she appreciates the support she receives from her co-workers, and from the parents of the children she’s taught over the years.

A Boerne ISD news release said she has a passion for bridging learning standards across disciplines, including literature and community experts, in order to create hands-on STEM and collaborative opportunities for her students.

Gohn earned a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of Washington and has been teaching for 25 years in Texas and Washington state. She specializes in integrating technology with engaging and innovative teaching practices, including tactile and kinesthetic learning, into her lessons.

“I have been in Boerne (for 11) years now. There’s the repeat families that have come through,” she said. “My first crew, fourth graders, they are juniors now in college ... miniadult versions of themselves. To see them grow is fabulous.”