Megan Carmody teaches music to students in kindergarten through sixth grade at Highland Elementary School in Lewistown, Missouri. She has 17 years of teaching experience and has served all of those years in the Lewis County C-1 School District. She is a passionate believer that providing children with a strong love of music early in life puts them on a path for success throughout their entire academic career. In addition to music, Carmody also directs both the high school and elementary school drama clubs and leads these groups in multiple performances throughout the year. Ever in pursuit of collaborating to create the best learning environment for the students of Lewis County, Carmody is her school’s Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) implementer, serves on the district leadership cadre, and volunteers as a beginning teacher mentor and student teaching cooperating teacher when called to do so. She was selected as Northeast Regional Teacher of the Year in June 2022 and as a Missouri State Teacher of the Year semifinalist in August 2022. In her free time, Carmody enjoys spending time with friends and family, watching and listening to as much musical theatre as possible, and cheering on her students as they perform in music and theatrical events throughout the area. Carmody earned her Bachelor of Music Education from Culver-Stockton College in 2006, her Master of Music Education from Boston University in 2011, and will begin work on her Ed.S in principalship from Arkansas State University in the fall of 2023.