Teacher of the Year

Dance Teacher, Dorothy McElhinney Middle School
Murrieta Valley Unified School District

In 2007, Heather Hanlon was hired to build a dance program from the ground up at Lisa J. Mails Elementary School in Murrieta Valley USD. The success of the program spilled over to the dance floor at the newly-constructed Dorothy McElhinney Middle School next door, where dancers of all shapes, sizes, and abilities, would soon learn everything from salsa and waltz to hip hop and ballet folklorico. In 2008, she created Dancefinity, one of the only middle school competitive dance programs in California.

Heather is a firm believer that “your physiology determines your psychology”, and she deploys this message to foster positive mental and physical health outcomes. Students in Heather’s inclusive-oriented class range from “reluctant dancers” and students with extraordinary needs, to athletes, artists, and adolescents, who are seeking a safe place to express themselves through body movement.

Heather's Message

I am filled with immense gratitude for being honored as Riverside County Teacher of the Year for 2023. I have had the pleasure to work alongside so many dedicated, passionate, and innovative educators and administrators in my twenty-one years with Murrieta Valley USD.

I am thankful for my mentor Michelle McCarthy. Her example of high-quality pedagogy while demonstrating the importance of relationship-centered teaching was critical in my development as an educator. Huge thanks to my administrators, you are the best! I am extremely grateful for my family and friends; their constant support and love makes everything more fulfilling. My husband Dave, there is no one I would rather have beside me in life. I love you! Teaching dance has been magical for me. My students and their families’ unwavering trust, enthusiasm, and resilience, has taught me so much, and drives me to do my best for them every day.