For the past 32 years, Karen Montoya has walked into a classroom in September with the sole purpose of developing a love and understanding of chemistry in her students.
When she was recently approached in BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport by a former student who shared that she was now a pharmacist, Montoya savored the news with the thought that maybe she had some small part in that choice.
“I can see them succeed in the classroom,” Montoya said. “You have those little moments, sometimes daily, where they are struggling and then they finally get it, but they don’t realize the power they have when they come back and tell you these things, how it just pulls at your heart.”
Recently, Montoya was named the Archdiocesan High School Teacher of the Year. She has been teaching chemistry at Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn for the past seven years, but her entire teaching career has been with the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
John McCaul, her principal at Spalding, said there is no doubt in his mind why she won this award.
“She has an enthusiasm for the work,” he said. “This teacher, in every moment, communicates to all of our students, with her words and actions, that she is so glad God created them and that they exist in this world.”
He noted that when the announcement was made to students at a schoolwide Mass during Catholic Schools Week, all 1,300 students rose to their feet, cheering and expressing their shared joy with the teacher’s recognition.
Montoya, who worships at several area parishes, finds that teaching in a Catholic school atmosphere allows her the flexibility to present the lessons in a way that is more beneficial to her students.
“I always like the fact that I can teach them to become good citizens,” she said. “It’s a place where we can talk about God, pray before class and do service-oriented projects with my students.”
Montoya, a graduate of University of Maryland College Park, initially put her chemistry degree to use working as a chemist, but said she felt a “pull of wanting to help people understand things better,” and that’s what initiated her switch to the teaching field. She took teaching classes for her teaching certification at Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore.
She noted that at the beginning of each school year, she sets teaching goals for herself. For as many years as she can remember hers has always been to have some type of hands-on activity in every class. Methods vary from using white boards, to “minute-to-win-it” games, or even smiley face stickers, but often those activities involve food.
“When we are learning how things dissolve, I use Starburst candies,” she explained, “and when we talk about the atom, I use different cookies that represent what the atom looks like as the model changes over the centuries.”
Recent student surveys that named her Spalding Teacher of the Year note her enthusiasm, her commitment to providing an atmosphere conducive to learning, and her strong example of faith.
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