Teacher Appreciation Week: Catching up with June 2025 Pay Tribute to a Teacher winner

It’s Teacher Appreciation Week, so we’re checking in with some past winners of the KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos Pay Tribute to a Teacher award.

PHOENIX – Kelly Melrose, who teaches geometry and coaches softball at Camelback High School in Phoenix, was the June 2025 recipient of the Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos Pay Tribute to a Teacher award.

The monthly award, which is sponsored by Your Valley Toyota Dealers, comes with a $2,500 prize.

Melrose said she’s used the funds to help pay for students’ athletic expenses to make sure they can focus on class without financial worries.

“I’ve removed every barrier when it comes to softball. Like, you’ve never played before? Great. That’s why we have a freshman softball team. … You don’t have a glove? I have a glove for you. You don’t have cleats? I have cleats. You don’t have pants? I have pants. The answer to every question when it comes to softball is ‘Yeah, we got it,’” she said.

Melrose has been teaching for 29 years and said next year will be her last before retiring.

“You forget sometimes, like, ‘what am I doing?’ because you can get caught up. You know this administrator, that rule, that parent, that class, that professional development — you know all these things and the most rewarding thing is that somewhere along the way I remembered that the reason I’m here has to do with kids,” she said.

Want to nominate somebody for the Pay Tribute to a Teacher award? Submissions are accepted here.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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