For 30 years, Cathy Walters has been an educator, coach, athlete, volunteer, wife, mother, and now grandmother. Because of her love of learning, competition, and the outdoors, the Iditarod dogsled race has become an essential part of her curriculum for 13 years. She has built upon and expanded her Iditarod unit so that it is not only a major feature of the pre-kindergarten program at Carolina Day School, but also the Key School, the Carolina Day School division devoted to teaching children with learning differences. Now, as the Target® 2009 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™, Cathy’s enthusiasm for both teaching and the Iditarod will be tapped to spread the good word about using the Last Great Race as a powerful theme of instruction in the classroom.

Cathy attended West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV, where she earned a BS in Social Work. In 1976, Cathy married, graduated with her MA in Special Education, and began her teaching career in a public school system near Morgantown. In 1988, Cathy and her family moved to the beautiful mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. After a stint raising and home-schooling her sons, she was hired to teach in the pre-kindergarten program at Carolina Day School.

With support from Carolina Day School, Cathy attended the 2006 Iditarod Teachers Conference in Wasilla, Alaska, something she describes as “one of the highlights of my life as a teacher and a traveler.” She was completely enamored with the people, the place, and the dogs. Not only did she come back to her classroom with loads of enthusiasm, methods and materials, Cathy also learned of the opportunity to become lead teacher for the Iditarod educational initiative. After realizing her dream of becoming the Target® 2009 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™, she now has the opportunity to share with others her conviction that the heart of The Last Great Race can become the heart of the classroom.

Cathy explains her approach: “As I set out on this teaching adventure of a lifetime, I want to show how easy it is to integrate the theme of the race into school curriculum using the multiple intelligences and a multi-sensory approach to teaching. Through a variety of lessons and summer school projects, teachers can meet academic goals, moving their students down the trail to personal excellence.”

Cathy and her husband Bob have been married for 32 years; they have three sons, a wonderful daughter-in-law, and a very active two-year-old grandson. Cathy has coached cross country and track, run races from the mile to the marathon, and competed in a triathlon; she still trains 45-60 minutes five days a week. Her other favorite activities besides spending time with her family include reading, traveling, gardening, going to the beach, bike riding, and playing with her Siberian husky puppy, Jake.

• Cathy’s Lessons and Messages    Scroll through the lessons and read Cathy’s journal!

• Listen to Cathy’s Idita – Tunes.

• Click here to email Cathy.