Overview

Connecticut Teacher of the Year 2024 Kiana Foster-Mauro

Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School, New London

Kiana Foster-Mauro is an educator, activist, and lifelong learner. A fourth-grade teacher at Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School in New London, Connecticut, Foster-Mauro is committed to empowering her students through culturally sustaining and human rights centered learning.

As a Black biracial woman, Foster-Mauro understands the importance of diverse representation and culturally sustaining practices in education. She believes teaching is a radical act that impacts minds and hearts. Thankful for this opportunity to support and uplift students, she has designed and led lessons that empower, center joy, and tackle critical and relevant topics.

Foster-Mauro has presented at conferences, nationally and locally. She has been a member of the National Association for Multicultural Education since 2018 and was recently accepted to present on facilitating critical conversations around current events, identity, human rights, and mental health. Foster-Mauro holds a Bachelor of Science in Education with minors in History and Human Rights, and a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Connecticut. At UConn, she served on the executive board of Leadership in Diversity, a student-led organization dedicated to diversifying education.

Foster-Mauro is passionate about community and empowering others. She enjoys teaching her students reading, writing, and social studies daily and connecting with former students just down the hall and at her annual classroom family reunion. Outside of the classroom, she extends her commitment to education, diversity, and community as a dance teacher at The Dance Extension and company advisor to the Community Dance Ensemble