Cali Denise

Cali Dansie, a history teacher at Timberline Middle School in Alpine, Utah, has been awarded the 2020 Utah History Teacher of the Year award from Gilder Lehrman. This award demonstrates her deep commitment to teaching American history, creativity and innovation in the classroom, and close attention to the use of primary source documents and artifacts. After spending just a moment in Cali Dansie’s class you will quickly feel excited to learn about history. She has a gift for telling stories and her contagious energy is felt as she inspires students to connect with the past. She helps students to realize that they are all a part of the story we call history. Dansie’s true magic lies in what she has been able to bring out of her students. Her class is very challenging but students are confident because she supports them at every turn and delivers clear expectations with the motivation to do their best. When students leave her class they are not only capable individuals, but people who are willing to make changes within themselves in order to make our world a better place.