For the second time in her teaching career at Rockwood Summit, science teacher Sarah Moonier was named Teacher of the Year for the 2025-2026 school year. The award was presented to her during 2nd hour on Feb. 17. Moonier’s previous Teacher of the Year award was won during the 2013-2014 school year.

The winner of this award is determined by a staff nomination and multiple rounds of voting. Moonier said that she was shocked that she was chosen out of all the other nominees in the school, especially since she has already won the award before.

“I kind of teared up a little bit [when I found out] because I didn’t honestly expect to win. I was so surprised and I’m really honored to be the first to [win] it twice. It just feels good to know that your colleagues really care about you, and so I feel really grateful,” Moonier said.

Sophomore Katie Moonier is Moonier’s daughter and she got to be a part of presenting the award to her. Moonier believes that it is very special to have a kid at the school while she is a teacher.

“When you’re a teacher and your kid is in the building, it’s really special as a teacher [because] you get to share so many experiences with your kid and see them grow up and everything. To have her be a part of [presenting the award], I know it’s going to be a good core memory. The last time I won, she was only five [and] she got to be a part of it then. Now that she’s older, it’ll be kind of cool [for her] to experience,” Moonier said.

Presenting the award to her mom made Katie happy and she said that she enjoyed being a part of the planning process. 

“I was very excited to give [the award] to my mom. She is a special person. I got to pick out the flowers [for her],” Moonier said.