POWER — The newest Montana Teacher of the Year was announced by the Office of Public Instruction on Wednesday, September 25, 2024.
Dawn Sievers, who teaches Spanish, art, and English at Power Public Schools, is the 2025 recipient.
State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen presented Sievers with the plaque award in a special surprise ceremony inside of the Power school gym in front of the entire school.
Sievers says she was under the impression she was taking her class to a school safety assembly.
“Then I saw my parents,” says Sievers. “That scared me.”
Sievers was unanimously selected after a competitive process between four finalists. The other teachers up for consideration were: Jennifer Fleek Airne from Billings; Jordan Capp from Missoula; and Megan Brenna from Livingston.
The selection committee was made up of the Office of Public Instruction, the Governor’s Office, the School Administration of Montana, the Montana Board of Public Instruction, the Montana Advisory Council on Indian Education, and the 2024 Montana Teacher of the Year, Kevin Kicking Woman.
Sievers will now represent Montana in the National Teacher of the Year competition.
“Every student has fed into me and I have fed into them. So it's, an integral part of me,” says Sievers. “Every student asks, who's your favorite? And I've always said, love multiplies. It doesn't divide. So everyone has held a place in my heart.”
As part of the national contest, Sievers will be initiated into the legacy group of winning teachers. Together, they will work to brainstorm ways to better their own teachings and the public education system.
“I feel like I have a responsibility if I'm I'm taking this position, to be a voice. I need to put the work in and to listen to people and, take those steps to do a good job from here to represent Montana teachers,” says Mrs. Sievers.
