Natalie Wilkes didn’t always want to be a teacher.

Despite coming from a family of educators, she went to Chapman University with plans to go into public relations and advertising. Then, a friend invited her to volunteer with him at a nearby preschool.

“I found myself in the unfiltered joy of preschoolers,” Wilkes said. “That was unexpected, because I thought if I would be a teacher, I would have known that a long time before.”

Fifteen years later, Wilkes has been named Santa Barbara County Teacher of the Year, recognizing her for her leadership in literacy screening and her advocacy for Santa Barbara students.

Wilkes teaches first grade at Monte Vista School in the Hope Elementary School District, where she has worked for 14 years. 

The honor was a surprise to Wilkes, and as a middle child, she said she usually tries to avoid the spotlight. However, she wants to use the recognition as a chance to advocate for her fellow teachers. 

“Teachers inherently are advocates for their students, but it’s important for us to be advocates for each other, too,” Wilkes said.

Among her priorities is seeing high-quality professional development for teachers that helps them understand concepts in a way that they can implement into the classroom. She said she also cares about access to curriculum that’s based in research and engages students in the material. 

“When teachers know the ‘why’ behind something, they’re able to implement it with greater integrity and purpose,” Wilkes said. “I think it’s such a missed opportunity when you go to a professional development and you have all these great teachers in the room, and they come away, and there’s nothing practical for them to use.”

Anne Hubbard, superintendent of the Hope Elementary School District, said Wilkes’ ability to look at how issues affect teachers and students across the county is part of why she was chosen as Teacher of the Year.

“When she learns something, she thinks, ‘How can this impact other students beyond my classroom walls?’” Hubbard said. “She’s the type of person that will see an issue and then not be afraid to bring it forward.”

Hubbard said Wilkes stepped up to help the district implement an annual reading screener to help with early identification of students with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia. 

“She’s a young mom, and she’s a full-time teacher, but she’s always willing to step in and volunteer for any kind of committee or learning that’s not only going to make her instructional strategies better, but where she can lend a hand and bring whatever we find are great strategies, she can help the district expand that,” Hubbard said. 

As a mom of three young children, Wilkes said having children has shown her how different each child is, and how their needs differ. 

“My kids are all very different from each other, and I think their differences, and also their differences from me, helped me to see my students in a different light,” Wilkes said. “What they each need is so varied.”

She said she also knows that each student shows up to school with their own burdens, challenges and home environments, challenging her to think about how to help them in the classroom. 

Wilkes said she tries to keep her classroom environment consistent and predictable. She has a schedule on the board so students know what to expect each day as well as behavioral expectations listed out. 

“I think that knowing what’s going to happen at school when things might be unpredictable at home can give them the safety to free up their cognitive load to learn,” Wilkes said. “If they’re in a setting that they know is familiar, in a routine that is familiar, then I think sometimes that learning can be more accessible.”

Monte Vista School Principal Hans Rheinschild described Wilkes as a caring teacher, saying she knows how to meet students where they are. 

“She’s very constructive and positive and collaborative, and I think she has everybody’s best interest in mind, at heart, whether it’s the students or the teachers,” Rheinschild said. 

Rheinschild said it was great to have a Monte Vista teacher named Santa Barbara County Teacher of the Year as it reflects the hard work happening across the school. 

“It’s a reflection on Natalie, on her amazing teaching, but also on the whole school,” Rheinschild said. “It’s really a very collaborative, cohesive faculty, and I know a lot of what she’s doing in the classroom is being done across the school.”

The collaborative environment is what Wilkes said is her favorite part of Monte Vista.

“My favorite part about working at my school is the people I get to work with every day,” Wilkes said. “They’re really driven teachers who are constantly refining their craft and then sharing what they learn with everyone else, and I think that mutual support is what makes our school great.”

Wilkes will be honored at the Salute to Teachers event on Saturday. As a recipient from Santa Barbara County, she is also eligible for the California Teacher of the Year Award.