Brad Hawkes is the 2018-19 Teacher of the Year for Canyon Elementary
Congratulations to Brad Hawkes for receiving Canyon Elementary’s 2018-2019 Teacher of the Year award! Hawkes has been teaching elementary students in the Cache County School District for over 30 years, with 14 of those years at Canyon Elementary. He considers teaching math and science his strengths, but he covers all subjects. “The thing that is most fulfilling about my job is watching children explore and succeed,” Hawkes shared. He incorporates hands-on learning in his classes to make science come to life; it is not unusual to see Hawkes’ students elbow-deep in a science experiment, complete with cylinders and scales.
After completing his secondary education degree, Hawkes realized that he needed a slight career change. “I decided to become an elementary teacher while teaching Spanish lessons to students at a private school for a year," he explained. "I found that I really enjoyed interacting with elementary age students, so I took another year and moved to elementary education.” Since that choice many years ago, Hawkes has been instrumental in the success of many young students in the district.
Canyon Elementary principal Stacie Williamson describes Hawkes as a “superb teacher with a genuine love for his students.” He makes a point of helping his students to enjoy being at school because he believes that is an important contributor to them being successful. “Brad deserves to be Canyon Elementary’s Teacher of the Year because he works tremendously hard,” Williamson continued. “We admire him for the good man he is and the outstanding teacher he continues to be. He would be the last person to seek after this honor and perhaps that is one of the main reasons he deserves it so much.”
Thank you, Mr. Hawkes, for your dedication, extra efforts, and continuous contributions to Canyon Elementary and Cache County School District!