By Brianna White
InkFreeNews
AKRON — A local health and physical education teacher was recently recognized as the Secondary PE Teacher of the Year for 2025.
Mallory Eaton won the Secondary PE Teacher of the Year award from the Indiana Society for Health and Physical Educators at their 2025 conference on Thursday, Nov. 6. Image provided by Mallory Eaton.
Mallory Eaton won the Secondary PE Teacher of the Year award from the Indiana Society for Health and Physical Educators at their 2025 conference on Thursday, Nov. 6. Eaton has been a teacher and coach for the last 15 years and was working for Tippecanoe Valley High School when she received the award.
INSHAPE is Indiana’s primary organization for PE and health teachers in Indiana. INSHAPE provides resources and professional development for health and PE teachers.
At the annual INSHAPE conference, educators are recognized across several categories, including Elementary PE Teacher of the Year, Secondary PE Teacher of the Year, Adaptive PE Teacher of the Year, Health Teacher of the Year, Young Professional of the Year, and Leadership of the Year. Recognition is awarded through nominations and are received primarily from colleagues, principals, and administrators of the educator.
Eaton said about receiving the award, “It was such a big deal to receive this award because I feel that often PE, even though it’s important in all of our lives, is something that is often overlooked, and it felt nice to have my hard work be recognized … Obviously, I don’t do it for awards, but it’s really nice to feel validated.”
Eaton is dedicated to reaching all of the students in her classes and getting them to “to take charge of their own health, learn to advocate for themselves, and understand that you don’t have to be a D1 athlete to really enjoy movement, exercise, and play.”
She found ways to expand her students’ understanding of physical education beyond just team sports. She also had students play disc golf, go kayaking, experience yoga, and learn self-defense. She described PE as, “It’s not supposed to be bootcamp, but I want to teach them how to move their bodies. Sometimes you need to get a little creative, so they don’t realize that they’re having fun and working out at the same time … if you do it right, you can make kids fall in love with movement again.”
Eaton described how Jon Hutton, one of her colleagues who nominated her for the award and assisted her with self-defense lessons for the students, told her that it was because he “is always amazed at how I think outside the box. Because it is hard to get through to students, especially those who may not have had a great relationship with physical education.”
She said, “It was really cool to feel supported by my fellow teachers because they saw the work that I was doing. It was validating, and I have always loved our community of teachers. It was so cool that they found a way to support me and lift me up.”
Eaton said that “I’m just glad that I can be another positive adult in these kids’ lives, and I hope that we can continue to make this a really strong community because we have good people.”