Litty Mathai

Join us in congratulating Mason City Schools 5th grade Language Arts and Social Studies teacher, Litty Mathai, for being named Mason Schools Foundation 2022 Teacher of the Year at Mason Intermediate School.

At the end of this year Mrs. Mathai will conclude her 24th year of teaching language arts and social studies. Prior to coming to Mason she taught in Houston, Texas for 10 years. Mrs. Mathai is known for her optimistic and encouraging demeanor and for playing games to help students learn challenging content in a super fun way. “I always look forward to walking into Mrs. Mathai’s classroom and learning from her every day. She makes it such a great learning environment so that I can do my very best every day. And she makes my very best even better.” Claire, current student.

There are countless ways Litty Mathai goes ‘above and beyond’ in her classroom. At the beginning of the year she gives up her lunch break to meet in small groups to get to know her students and to allows them the opportunity to get to get to know each other as well. She also finds ways to build their confidence and challenges them daily to be risk takers and to step out of their comfort zone. One example is by motivating her class to read more challenging books with the benefit of joining a “Lunch Bunch Book Club”. Mrs. Mathai again gives up her lunch period monthly to host this book club where her students are able to discuss different writing styles, genres and cultural differences.

Mrs. Mathai knows the importance being able to speak comfortably in front of an audience and provides many opportunities in class for her students to gain confidence in doing so. They participate in a poetry slam contest, class debates and class presentations. She also strives to build their confidence to be leaders in and out of the classroom. “I feel that my main job as a teacher that stretches beyond academics is a "seed planter" planting seeds of confidence and possibility,” Mrs. Mathai shared. She is often seen conferencing with her students giving feedback on their public speaking, daily assignments and work habits. “I value giving kids feedback and we are always working on this in the classroom,” she said. “It is my bread and butter!”

It is clear that Mrs. Mathai regularly goes out of her way to assure that each and every one of her students succeed. “Mrs. Mathai is an amazing teacher and deserves this award,” said parent Christine Mickelson. “Not only are students trying out public speaking and working on poetry skills, they are also building a community of peers that support and encourage one another.”

We are thrilled to honor Mrs. Litty Mathai as teacher of the year!

🌟 Congratulations! 🌟