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Valerie Gates traces the beginning of her teaching career to a story she read as young girl in Montreal.

She was in second or third grade, she said, and read a book about a young boy who lost his sight and needed to learn braille.

The story ignited a passion for language education, which took Gates from classrooms in her native Canada to the University of Utah and then to Salt Lake City's West High School, where she has worked for the past 13 years.

"I wanted to do something that would help people find a way to make their lives the way they want them to be," she said.

On Friday, Gates was named the 2017 Utah Teacher of the Year, the highest honor for educators in the state's public education system.

The award includes a check for $10,000, a laptop and an invitation to a national teaching conference in Washington, D.C., where Gates and other state-level awardees will meet with the president of the United States.

"There couldn't be anyone more deserving," said West High School Principal Paul Sagers. "In my 40 years, she ranks among the very best."

At West, Gates works with small groups of students learning English as a second language. Her classes often include refugees and other recent arrivals to the United States, from multiple cultural and language backgrounds.

She also teaches the school's AVID class, an acronym for Advancement Via Individual Determination, which helps prepare would-be first-generation college students for the rigors and requirements of higher education.

As part of Gates' award materials, Eileen Hallet Stone, Utah's section president of the National Council of Jewish Women, wrote that Gates helps students become independent problem solvers who make thoughtful decisions.

"She speaks to students as if they are all partners in learning," wrote Stone, who pens a history column for The Salt Lake Tribune. "And since she respects their ability to take on high expectations and extend their own ability to learn, they seem more willing to achieve."

Gates said she gained a greater appreciation for language education after traveling in South America in her late teens and early 20s.

She grew up in a bilingual city speaking English and French, but said her time in Spanish-speaking countries revealed the challenges of learning a new language as a young adult.

"The amount of language you can express starts to feel like that's your intellect," she said. "You aren't able to ever truly express what you're thinking."

While her focus is helping students master English as a second language, she said there's a value for all students to be multilingual.

It makes them more understanding of their peers learning English, she said, and provides a different perspective on communication by forcing them out of their comfort zones.

"It opens up your mind to different cultures," she said.

Sagers joined West High last summer and joked that he wishes he could take credit for Gates' success.

Instead, he said, Gates was one of the first faculty members he met because of the long, off-the-clock hours she spends working with students and families over the summer break.

"She's involved in practically everything that we do here," he said.

"I've never seen somebody with so much energy."

Gates succeeds American Fork High School teacher Melody Apezteguia as Utah's Teacher of the Year.

Gates was chosen from among Utah's school district and regional teachers of the year by a committee composed of Apezteguia, Utah Board of Education representatives and Utah school principals.

Runners-up for this year's award were Skyline High School's Jody Tolley and Peruvian Park Elementary's Gretchen Murray.

Gates said she might use the prize money to travel to Canada and visit her family, or to help her children with tuition expenses.

"I know that I'll end up spending some of it in my classroom," she said, "as all teachers do."

She also said that teaching is "an honorable and rewarding job," despite the long hours.

"Every single day is different," she said. "Your brain, your creativity, is challenged every day."

Twitter: @bjaminwood