Three elementary school teachers were announced Tuesday as the finalists for 2026 West Hartford Teacher of the Year.

By Ronni Newton

The three finalists for West Hartford Public Schools 2026 Teacher of the Year were announced Tuesday night, and Superintendent of Schools Paul Vicinus said it was the perfect day to announce the honorees.

Tuesday was Teacher Appreciation Day – which falls midway through Teacher Appreciation Week – and it’s also the traditional time the finalists for West Hartford Teacher of the Year are announced to the Board of Education.

This year all three of the district’s finalists are elementary school teachers. They include (in alphabetical order) Mari Beth Hixon, a kindergarten teacher at Morley; Elizabeth Ploof, a special education teacher at Duffy; and Cathy Woods, a first grade teacher at Aiken.

West Hartford Superintendent of Schools Paul Vicinus, at a celebratory reception for the finalists and their families held just prior to the announcement at the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, congratulated the three finalists and said they “represent the entirety of West Hartford Public Schools in this honor.”

The process is managed entirely by teachers, and Vicinus credited the Teacher of the Year Committee for doing “extremely well” in choosing this year’s finalists. “I’m so excited for all of you and so proud of what you do,” he said. “It’s a picture of the collaboration, the professionalism, and giving back that teachers do.”

The vigorous, entirely teacher-led process begins with nominations from their colleagues, submission of a resume and an essay, recommendation letters, and having a lesson videotaped. A committee of teachers narrows the pool to three, who are then formally interviewed by the Teacher of the Year committee. The winner will be announced on May 20.

As he announced the finalists – in alphabetical order – to the Board of Education following the reception, Vicinus also remarked that he could “not think of a more fitting day” for the recognition than Teacher Appreciation Day.

Hixon was first hired as a reading specialist and is an 11-year veteran of West Hartford Public Schools.

“Mari Beth currently makes magic happen every day for Morley kindergarteners where she inspires a love of learning, a love of reading, and the development of character and shared values,” Vicinus told the Board.

She has a bachelor’s degree in early childhood and elementary education from Southern Connecticut State University, a master’s in elementary reading and language arts from the University of Saint Joseph, and also earned a certification as a literary specialist through Albertus Magnus College.

Hixon said this is her first time being nominated for Teacher of the Year, and while she said she doesn’t personally know why she was nominated, her activities and accomplishments are considerable. She has secured grants to support early childhood education (Little Libraries and Play-Based Learning), is one of the co-organizers of the annual Morley Red Wagon Food Drive, and is a coach of the Girls on the Run nonprofit community-based empowerment program for third, fourth, and fifth graders – which she said keeps her connection with her former students. Among other activities, she also volunteers with the Crosby Fund for Haitian Education, supporting students in Haiti through scholarship and fundraising.

Vicinus shared the following comments from Morley Principal Ryan Cleary: “Mari Beth is the living embodiment of ‘student-first decision making.’ She is one of the most compassionate and dedicated advocates for children I have ever worked with.” He added that her “advocacy is paired with a passion for speaking up for what she feels is best,” and she’s not afraid to express her opinions.

“I just love kindergarten because I get to sing, get to be silly,” Hixon said. The mother of three adult children who are all West Hartford Public Schools grads, Hixon said she loves taking on the “mom” role with her students. “It keeps you young.”

Ploof has been in the field of teaching and/or education for 27 years – the past nine of those years in West Hartford Public Schools.

“Elizabeth wisely settled in West Hartford as a special education teacher in 2017 and has experience at both Norfeldt and Bugbee but traded in her fins and wings for dragon scales to proudly join our den of special educators at Duffy Elementary,” Vicinus told the Board of Education.

Ploof has a bachelor’s degree in human development from Colby College and earned a dual master’s in special education and childhood education from Brooklyn College.

Her list of volunteer activities is extensive – and includes America Reads, America Counts, the Head Start program, school-based environmental projects, leadership roles at her children’s schools in Hartford, and serving as a Girl Scout Troop leader. “In the Girl Scout spirit, Elizabeth has always ‘been prepared’ to give of her time and herself to support children through educational activities and character enrichment,” Vicinus said.

She’s also a frequent presenter at professional workshops and other programs, and Vicinus noted that her colleagues “describe her as the ‘secret sauce to instructional strategies,'” adding that Duffy Principal Kristi Laverty praised her “command of current research and her ability to translate that knowledge into meaningful, individualized instruction as transformational relative to outcomes for students.”

This is her first time being nominated as Teacher of the Year, and Ploof said she thinks it’s because of “my collaboration with teachers in the building. … I love being on a team. I love the Pupil Services team, the collaboration with classroom teachers – and the kids.”

With a nod to Aiken’s owl mascot, Vicinus told the Board of Education that Woods “is a Wise choice and Swoops in” as one of the 2026 Teacher of the Year finalists.

Woods, who is from from North Carolina where she previously taught sixth grade, joined West Hartford Public Schools in 2008 after decades of volunteering and leadership roles with multiple PTOs at schools attended by her five children, and also volunteered for six years with the Foundation for West Hartford Public Schools, serving two years as a Board member.

Woods has a bachelor’s in education from Wake Forest University, and a master’s in education with a concentration in reading and language arts from the University of Saint Joseph. She first joined the district as a teaching assistant at Braeburn, and worked at several schools before joining Aiken – where she has “excelled as a first grade teacher” Vicinus said – in 2018.

“Cathy is an active and visible presence in the school community and throughout the district,” Vicinus said, including as homework center coordinator and with the Equity and Diversity Council. “I see her frequently where she offers sage counsel as a member of the Superintendent Advisory Committee. Cathy also has a long standing connection to the Department of Children and Families as a licensed Foster Parent. In recognition of her incredible dedication and contributions to community and youth, Cathy was recognized as the West Hartford Educators Association Citizen of the Year in 2010,” he said.

Vicinus said that Woods is known to have a “green thumb,” and shared the following from Aiken Principal Christine Mori: “Cathy brings first grade to life with the same care and patience she gives her beloved garden – planting seeds of curiosity, watering them with encouragement, and somehow getting every little learner to bloom in their own unique way. Having lived in seven different states, she’s basically a walking social studies lesson, full of stories, perspectives, and the kind of adaptability that makes even the wiggliest first graders feel right at home. Whether she’s nurturing young readers or her latest batch of flowers, Cathy proves that with the right mix of sunshine, structure, and a great sense of humor, anything can grow.”

Woods said she was nominated for Teacher of the Year last year, but this is her first time as a finalist, and thinks a major factor was the “diverse experience with all the volunteer work before getting back into the classroom,” crediting the people she works with for her success as a teacher. First grade is particularly rewarding, she said. “I love teaching kids how to read, and seeing the development. This time of year, they’re reading on their own. It’s a huge amount of development.”

All three finalists received certificates from Vicinus on Tuesday night. The name of the person ultimately chosen as Teacher of the Year award is kept embargoed until the recipient is formally recognized later this month.

Christine Fedolfi, a fifth grade teacher at Charter Oak International Academy, was named the 2025 Teacher of the Year.

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