Winooski High’s Caitlin McLeod-Bluver: Vermont Teacher of the Year and amplifier of voices
April 24, 2025 | Carly Potter | Community News ServiceEditor’s Note: This story was reported for The Winooski News. Caitlin McLeod-Bluver is a Moretown resident, parent of school-age children, and an advocate for public education in Vermont who has added her voice to the discussion around the future of education in the Harwood district recently.
Caitlin McLeod-Bluver at her desk. Photo courtesy Winooski School District
“Would anyone like to share any piece of their writing?” Caitlin McLeod-Bluver inquired as her 10th grade American Literature students put pencils to paper.
“Either the whole thing, a couple words, a word from any of your writing?” the teacher continued.
“Well fine, okay,” a brave student said. “A flower always starts as a seed.”
“That makes me want to read your whole poem!” McLeod-Bluver responded.
The writing exercise earlier this spring prepared students to present in Winooski High School’s poetry showcase in April for National Poetry Month. It also demonstrated the kind of enthusiasm and connection to students that helped McLeod-Bluver win the title of Vermont Teacher of the Year.
McLeod-Bluver isn’t the only person at Winooski High School to receive an award. One of her students, Mapenzi Seleman, recently won the state championship in the Poetry Out Loud national recitation contest. The win came with a cash prize for herself and the school.
“I enjoyed every step of it, and I made new friends. It was really good,” Selemani said to the class.
“We’re really proud of you, Mapenzi,” McLeod-Bluver responded.
Growing up in western Massachusetts, MacLeod-Bluver didn’t always know she was going to be a teacher but knew she appreciated them.
“I have always loved learning, and I felt like I knew the power of really strong educators early on,” she said.
She attended Wesleyan University in Connecticut and received her degree through the College of Social Studies, with an interdisciplinary major blending history, economics, philosophy and government.
Following her sophomore year at Wesleyan, MacLeod-Bluver participated in the Breakthrough Collaborative in Boston program, teaching at a middle school for the summer. This program introduced her to the Boston Teacher Residency, a 13-month graduate program where aspiring educators work in schools while taking master’s degree classes.
“I didn’t know what exactly I wanted to do, but I had such a strong experience (that) summer. I was like, ‘Oh, well I’ll try this on and see how it goes,’ and I’ve never looked back,” MacLeod-Bluver said.
She started teaching in Boston public schools, instructing mostly immigrant and refugee students, including at the Boston International Newcomers Academy. After a brief hiatus and living and teaching in Alaska for a year, McLeod-Bluver returned to the East Coast in 2019. She applied to work at Winooski High School and has been teaching there for 14 years.
McLeod-Bluver currently teaches English, history, social humanities, social studies and reading. Although she doesn’t have a favorite subject to teach, she believes history plays a pivotal role in helping students understand society.
“I adore using history classes as a way for us to develop the skills we need to be citizens in our world,” she said.
As an English teacher and reading specialist, McLeod-Bluver enjoys instructing narrative writing, including poems and essays, and leading text-based discussions based on novels. Her favorite novel to teach is “The Poet X” by Elizabeth Acevedo.
With Winooski’s diverse student population, and many students coming from different language backgrounds, reading levels may vary in her class. But this is no obstacle for “Miss Caitlin,” as her students call her.
“It’s so powerful to teach reading to kids who are often struggling with it, but to teach them in a way that’s empowering and gives them agency,” she said.
McLeod-Bluver stresses the significance of recognizing and valuing each student’s unique identity inside and outside of the classroom.
“I think it’s super important no matter what you do to affirm students’ full identities and to really show students that you truly care about them, their backgrounds, their families, their religions, their experiences, to find ways to bring those experiences and those voices into the classroom and elevate it,” she said.
This past year, McLeod-Bluver received an Outstanding Educator award from the Winooski school district. This award recognizes the accomplishments of educators in the state and grants awardees eligibility to compete for the Vermont Teacher of the Year award.
After a multi-step application process, the Winooski High School teacher learned she had won in September, and was off to the national conference.
“I’ve been teaching for almost 15 years, and I feel like this was truly three of the best days I’ve ever had of professional learning,” she said about the conference.
According to Winooski Superintendent of Schools Wilmer Chavarria, McLeod-Bluver exemplifies the type of work that teachers in Winooski bring to their community.
“The fact that Miss Caitlin won that award gives her voice and her approach that much more legitimacy,” he said.
Chavarria was proud but not shocked by McLeod-Bluver’s win.
“The recognition didn’t surprise anyone. As far as I’m concerned, it was only a matter of time before people with that level of commitment to their students get recognition in that way,” he said.
Since returning home from the Teacher of the Year conference, McLeod-Bluver has reflected on her role as a teacher.
In an age when structures of education are changing and being a teacher can be challenging, she faces adversity with determination.
“One thing that has always remained constant is, despite all of the noise of everything else, I walk into my room every day filled with immense purpose and immense hope,” she said. “I know a lot of people may feel disempowered or overwhelmed by the state of the world. I don’t because I have to show up for kids every single day.”
McLeod-Bluver sees herself as an advocate and problem solver who hopes to give her students a fuller understanding of themselves and the world around them.
“I want kids to leave my classroom as critical thinkers able to decipher our complex world, to question their sources, and then ultimately, to make their own opinion based off of evidence and then express their opinion, whatever that may be, and then use their voice to advocate for a more just world,” she said.
The University of Vermont’s Community News Service is an internship program that contributes reporting for Vermont news outlets, including Waterbury Roundabout.