- December 25, 2025
Imagine School at Town Center Teacher of the Year Katrina Feola is the only one of four girls who attended the University of Florida. Her three sisters all attended Florida State. But all four became teachers, which was one of their parents’ “greatest achievements.”
Feola currently teaches sixth grade Language Arts and Intensive Reading. This is her 35th year in education. She spent 10 years in the classroom in three Florida counties, then 20 in administration in Flagler County. Feola retired from Flagler Schools and chose to go back into the classroom at Crescent City High School. Last year, she moved to Imagine School at Town Center and was named the school’s Rookie Teacher of the Year.
Why did you decide to become a teacher?
My mother worked in the cafeteria at my K-12 school in Suwannee County. My siblings and I rode in to work with her early each day, and I always helped in my teachers' classrooms. Back in the day, that included banging the dust out of chalk erasers, writing the date on the board, and other small tasks. As I got older, they allowed me to put up bulletin boards, and grade spelling tests, math sheets, and multiple choice tests. I felt so important! The teachers were always well dressed, intelligent (mostly women), and were highly respected in my community. I thought they were amazing, and I hoped to grow up and be just like them. I can name every teacher I had from kindergarten through senior year, and I have fond memories of most of them.
My parents valued education immensely. When I was growing up, the question they always asked me and my three sisters was not, "Are you going to college?" It was, "Where are you going to college? UF or FSU?" UF had a five-year master’s program, and I had two state scholarships (Chappie James and Paul Douglas) to help pay for college, so UF it was. My three older sisters went to FSU; I am a Florida Gator! All four of us became teachers which was one of my parents' "greatest achievements" as they would say.
How does the nomination make you feel?
At Imagine Schools, the process for Teacher of the Year selection is different than in the traditional public schools I worked in. Imagine has a team of decision makers that come from another Imagine school to select the TOY based on written responses explaining how we contribute to the Six Measures of Excellence for Imagine Schools, a 20-minute taped lesson, and a 20-30 minute observation of a live lesson. They talk with our students about what and how they learn, as well as their thoughts on us in general. After this process, the decision makers select the TOY. Being an Imagine TOY is a recognition of being a highly effective and high quality educator, not a popularity vote or school-based administrative decision.
Being selected as the ISTC TOY makes me feel valued, respected and recognized for the hard work, energy, time and effort I pour into my kids, my classroom and my school. It reminds me that I am a great educator, and I do have an impact on students that they will carry with them, just like that little girl "dusting erasers" in a rural Florida school in the 1970’s.
What is your favorite thing about being a teacher?
The kids. I love it when we are reading a novel and my alarm goes off to indicate class is ending, and the kids shout, "Noooooo. You can't end there!" or a similar remark. It makes my English teacher's heart very satisfied. A close second to the kids is my amazing colleagues. I love working with teachers who are "in it to win it" for the kids!
What is one thing you are taking away from this experience?
I may be old, but I still got it! LOL.
Being a teacher can be challenging at times. What keeps you motivated?
I still love teaching and helping kids become better readers and thinkers. I love being around the kids and in the school environment. I am able to do what I love doing, and I am thankful for every day I can continue to teach.
What is a memorable experience that influenced the way you approach educating students?
There have been so many. As an administrator, I observed so many great teachers (and some not so great) that trained me to be a better educator. In my second year of teaching, a student taught me a great lesson. I had a seventh grade student (whose name and face I clearly remember) who used to try to "push my buttons" daily. I now understand that it was probably avoidance behavior as he was a struggling reader, but at that time, back in 1993, I was much less patient and self-reflective than I am now. One day, he called me a name, and I lost my temper — completely. The next day, my principal called me down after receiving several parent calls. After I explained the situation, she said, "You can never let the student control you. You must always be in control of yourself." It was a game changer for me.
Another time, I had a very bright, but also challenging high school student in the room. I followed my training and asked him to step outside the classroom so we could figure out what was going on. I "listened" to him talk about "having a lot of things going on" and "living with his grandparents,” etc. At the end of that, I said, "OK, well ... I'm going to need you to get focused and on task, and stop interrupting class." His response was, "I DON'T GIVE A (expletive) WHAT YOU NEED, LADY! Both of my parents just got deployed [due to the Gulf War,] and I don't know if I will ever see them alive again!" In that moment, I learned that there was a lot more my student needed from me than to read “Lord of the Flies.” I had to value those needs, or he would never care about what I was teaching.
If there was one piece of wisdom you could share with students, what would it be?
So much of what you are learning right now, you will never use in your daily adult life. HOWEVER, the way you are learning to learn and think, learning to persevere when material is difficult, and developing the work ethic to do things well and with pride in yourself — these skills are lifelong and necessary every, single day of your adult life.
Aside from your job, what are some other things you enjoy in your daily life?
It is funny that you ask this, as I think the kids often do not see us as individuals who have "other things" in our lives. They always seem shocked to see us out buying groceries or pumping gas. So many times, a car will pull alongside me at a red light, and I hear an excited, "Hey! Heyyyyyy! Mrs. Feola!" And oddly perhaps, I do enjoy that! I enjoy seeing my former students become productive adults with their own families and successes.
I love spending time with my family and friends, enjoying live music, attending theater productions and musicals, and traveling, The holiday season is my favorite time of the year as I get to do all of these things during this time!
