Wittmann English teacher wins ‘Pay Tribute to a Teacher’ award for July

The KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos Pay Tribute to a Teacher award for July went to Victoria Patton, an English teacher at Mountainside High School in Wittmann.

The award sponsored by Your Valley Toyota Dealers gives a deserving teacher $2,500 each month.

Patton said she chose to teach English because she saw the subject as more than just reading books and wanted to pass that feeling along to her students.

“It’s more about analyzing, being able to critically think, and I really have a passion for empowering my students to make their own decisions and to evaluate situations. So, I think that being able to read and being able to write effectively plays into that and it’s really the foundation for being a successful adult,” she told KTAR News.

Patton worked at Desert Edge High School in Goodyear in the 2025-26 school year, switching schools over the summer.

Wittmann teacher wins July Pay Tribute to a Teacher award

She said schools have changed significantly over the decades and students now face different challenges. While support may look different today, she added, it is still necessary.

“We are on two different playing fields but I’m going to respect you and know that you are fighting different battles at a much different level than I ever had to deal with. One, because of social media and social pressure um and all of that that comes with it,” Patton said.

She said showing students that she understands them helps push them to graduate and go on to have successful lives.

Patton said with the prize money she will help pay for a celebration for her parents’ 40th anniversary.

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.

Subscribe to the KTAR Eyes on Education newsletter to get our top education stories, exclusive guest interviews and more to your email inbox.

Related

Teacher Appreciation Week: Catching up with March 2026 Pay Tribute to a Teacher winnerKTAR News donated $30,000 to support metro Phoenix teachers throughout 2025Peoria Unified adds new hotline for students to report questionable behaviorArizona governor hopeful Andy Biggs says more funding doesn’t mean better schoolsSen. Mark Kelly proposes 2 bills to support young men and grow public serviceLawsuit challenges validity of thousands of ESA reform ballot measure signatures