Meet the ASU Prep 2026 Teacher of the Year Finalists

At ASU Prep South Phoenix, sixth-grade teacher and Transformational Teacher Leader Zoe Glover brings a student-centered approach to learning that combines high expectations, meaningful relationships and genuine ownership.

Zoe joined ASU Prep in 2025, drawn to the organization’s commitment to innovation and its willingness to rethink what school can look like for students and educators. Today, she teaches sixth-grade English Language Arts, math, science and social studies through an integrated approach focused on critical thinking, collaboration and real-world application. As a Transformational Teacher Leader, she also supports colleagues through coaching cycles, PLC facilitation, instructional planning, modeling and collaborative reflection.

For Zoe, being an educator at ASU Prep means believing deeply in what students are capable of and creating the conditions for them to discover that potential themselves.

A student-first philosophy shapes how Zoe approaches her classroom. She uses clear learning goals and success criteria, discussion, collaboration, student choice, inquiry and real-world applications to make learning active rather than passive. She also believes rigor and support should go hand in hand.

“I want students to understand not only what they are learning, but why they are learning it and what success looks like,” she says.

One experience that captures this approach was a recent novel study of New Kid by Jerry Craft. Rather than focusing only on comprehension, Zoe challenged students to examine how the main character, Jordan, changed throughout the story and what experiences contributed to that growth.

As students analyzed the novel, they explored themes of belonging, identity, friendship and assumptions while using evidence from the text to defend their thinking. For Zoe, the most meaningful part was watching students respectfully challenge one another’s interpretations and return to the text to support their ideas.

Her proudest moments often come from similar signs of growth: a student who once avoided reading volunteering to share aloud, a student persevering through a challenging math problem or students confidently using evidence to defend their thinking.

Zoe’s impact extends beyond her own classroom. Through her teacher leadership role, she works alongside colleagues to strengthen instruction and create a culture where educators learn from one another.

Looking ahead, Zoe is excited about the continued evolution of education at ASU Prep, particularly the opportunity to create learning experiences that are increasingly personalized, collaborative and connected to the world beyond the classroom.

Ultimately, she hopes her students remember her classroom as a place where they were challenged, supported and genuinely believed in.

“Long after they forget a particular lesson or assignment, I hope they remember that their ideas mattered, that mistakes were part of learning, and that they were capable of doing difficult things.”

At ASU Prep Digital, SUN (Students with Unique Needs) Core Middle School teacher and SUN Team Lead Ellen Northrop is dedicated to helping students with unique needs build the academic skills, confidence and independence to move forward.

Now in her sixth year with ASU Prep Digital, Ellen serves as the teacher of record for intensive intervention ELA and math courses. She provides specially designed instruction aligned to students’ IEP goals while developing adaptive curriculum that meets students where they are academically.

For many of her students, that means working several grade levels below their enrolled grade. Ellen’s goal is not simply to meet them where they are, but to help them build a path toward where they can go.

Ellen was drawn to ASU Prep Digital after years of teaching online and hearing from educators she respected about the possibilities they saw for students at ASU Prep. Six years later, she says she has embraced the community and takes tremendous pride in the work being done for students.

Her teaching philosophy centers on a simple belief: all students can learn and grow, but they may not all need the same path to get there.

Ellen uses student interests, discussion, visuals, modeling, hands-on learning and multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know. She also continually adjusts instruction based on what students need in the moment.

One lesson that exemplifies her approach was a Context Clues unit. Because her students have different reading levels, Ellen created leveled versions of the same content so every student could work toward the same skill while accessing the text at an appropriate level. The lesson included a context clue mystery scavenger hunt, explicit modeling, think-alouds and guided practice. After observing students’ responses, Ellen identified those who needed additional support and provided targeted one-to-one reteaching.

“Differentiation is not about making work easier. It is about removing the barrier that prevents a student from accessing the learning, then continuing to challenge them from there.”

Over the past year, Ellen has been especially proud to see the SUN Core model grow into a structured program with adaptive ELA and math courses, individualized learning pathways, executive functioning supports and greater expectations for student independence.

But some of her proudest moments cannot be captured by a graph. She has watched students who once avoided reading willingly participate, students who struggled to write produce multi-paragraph responses and students who once needed constant adult direction begin managing their own schedules and assignments.

Those moments represent something bigger than academic progress; they show students beginning to see themselves as capable learners. She credits ASU Prep’s culture of innovation and its willingness to rethink traditional approaches with making the SUN Program possible. When educators identified a need for students that was not being met, they were given the support and freedom to build something new.

Looking ahead, Ellen hopes to continue strengthening SUN, expanding opportunities for Students with Unique Needs and creating pathways that help more students build the skills and independence to move toward less restrictive environments.

“I hope my students leave SUN needing me a little less than when they arrived.” For Ellen, that is the ultimate measure of impact: helping students move forward with confidence, self-advocacy skills and a belief that they can do hard things.

At ASU Preparatory Academy at Pilgrim Rest, kindergarten teacher Sydney Catone creates a classroom where students are encouraged to explore, make mistakes and discover what they are capable of. Now in her second year at ASU Prep, Sydney was drawn to the organization’s connection to ASU and its willingness to think differently about education.

For Sydney, teaching means growing alongside her students and recognizing that every child may need a different path to reach their potential. Her philosophy centers on celebrating progress rather than perfection, helping students understand that mistakes are part of learning and balancing rigorous instruction with movement, play, conversation, exploration, repetition, relationships and joy.

Sydney brings that philosophy to life through meaningful, hands-on learning experiences. One of her favorite projects was a Zootopia-inspired project-based learning experience that combined reading, writing, science, research and communication. Each student chose an animal, researched it, became a classroom expert and created a research book to share what they learned. The classroom was transformed into six different animal habitats, and students invited families, peers and older students to explore and learn from them.

The project gave students ownership of their learning while allowing them to participate at different academic levels and still be challenged to grow. For Sydney, it represents what learning should be: rigorous, interdisciplinary, meaningful, engaging and joyful.

Sydney also helps students understand how they learn and grow. Her kindergarten students learn about the brain and how practice and challenge help strengthen neural pathways. She teaches them that when something feels hard, it does not mean they cannot do it. It means their brains are working. One of her proudest moments is seeing a child who once said, “I can’t do this,” begin to say, “This is hard, but I can try.”

Looking ahead, Sydney hopes to continue growing as a teacher leader and mentor while helping strengthen how educators prepare to meet the academic and developmental needs of young children. Most of all, she hopes her students leave kindergarten knowing they are capable of doing hard things, that asking for help is a strength and that where they start does not determine where they can go.