色花堂

Highlights

• Nisha Phillip Malahoo 鈥�21MEd 鈥�24 EdD returned to school after she became a mother so she could learn how to help her children with their math homework 鈥� a subject she always struggled with in her primary education.

• The former Order of Pegasus recipient credits her professors at UCF with building her confidence and turning her into the 鈥渢eacher she never had.鈥�

• As a third-grade teacher at Orange County Public Schools鈥� Pinewood Elementary, Malahoo spent more than a decade building programs and creating partnerships that empower elementary students to succeed in mathematics 鈥� the very subject she once saw as an obstacle to her own success.

• The winner will be announced in November.

When was growing up, she struggled so much in mathematics that a teacher once told her she would never make it in life.

Today, the double Knight 鈥� a graduate of both the and the UCF-OCPS Noyce Teacher Leader Academy 鈥� is one of six finalists nationwide for the 2026 Toyota Family Teacher of the Year award.

As part of a 30-year partnership between Toyota and the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL), the award honors extraordinary educators nationwide whose approach to teaching focuses on building strong, multigenerational family-school partnerships that support student learning outcomes. Winners and runners-up receive grant funding toward their innovative, teacher-led projects.

For Malahoo, it鈥檚 a full-circle moment that started with her decision to take a chance on herself.

A Change in Mindset

Malahoo remembers being kicked out of that same mathematics teacher鈥檚 class for not completing homework she didn鈥檛 understand. For years, she internalized the belief that she wouldn’t be successful.

But after her daughter was born, Malahoo decided to go back to school to better her own understanding of math so she could one day help her children with it. While at UCF, she finally began to deconstruct what she鈥檇 spent most of her life believing about herself.

“My professors spoke life into me,鈥� Malahoo says. “Going through LMA made me realize it is OK to make mistakes, and it is OK to persevere. They broke down the work in a way that made it conceptual, meaningful and applicable to me. They were the type of teachers I never had.鈥�

While at UCF, she was a recipient of the Order of Pegasus 鈥� the highest honor a UCF student can receive. She also got involved with the professional organization NCSM: Leadership in Mathematics Education and went on to present at its annual conference. In finding mentors and professors who built her up, Malahoo鈥檚 growth as a mathematics educator was exponential.

“I started emulating my professors’ way of teaching. Because of them, I became the teacher that I never had… 鈥� 鈥� Nisha Phillip Malahoo

“What one teacher broke, another one fixed,鈥� she says. 鈥淢y mindset changed, and I started emulating my professors’ way of teaching. Because of them, I became the teacher that I never had, and then I was able to turn around and help children develop positive relationships with math at an earlier age. I owe everything to them, and to the LMA and Noyce programs. They’ve given me leadership capabilities and an example of what to follow.鈥�

, professor of K-12 STEM education, met Malahoo eight years ago during her first semester pursuing a master鈥檚 degree in K-8 mathematics and science education through LMA. Later, as principal investigator of the Noyce grant, Bush would help Malahoo take her knowledge to the next level in emerging as a teacher leader.

鈥淲atching her growth from a dedicated classroom teacher to a transformative leader has been incredibly rewarding,鈥� Bush says. 鈥淭oday, she is taking that leadership even further in her new role 鈥� empowering others to see and strengthen the powerful connections among mathematics learning, families and communities.鈥�

Creating Mathematicians, Empowering Communities

That experience further primed her to become a champion for her own third-grade students at Pinewood Elementary School. For the past seven years, Malahoo has also served as a partner-in-education coordinator with local nonprofit Above and Beyond for Change, which educates and empowers local youth by connecting them with community resources.

She recently transitioned out of the classroom and into a full-time leadership position with the nonprofit. As its director of education programs and community engagement, she is now able to expand school-community partnership and educational programming, as well as access to resources for students and families. She even gets to stay at Pinewood in a liaison role.

鈥淚t is the most amazing nonprofit that鈥檚 giving me the space to do this work,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey gave me a platform where I could share the needs of our school, leverage connections, and tap into those resources to bring it back to our students and families.鈥�

The impact has been substantial. Through Malahoo鈥檚 work and partnership with Above and Beyond for Change, family engagement at Pinewood grew from a handful of families attending school events to hundreds. Her passion for mathematics has driven multiple initiatives to make it more relatable for her students and more conducive to family and community involvement.

One such program, Monster Math Night, takes place in partnership with the local Publix each year around Halloween. Parents, teachers and students dress up in their costumes and meet at the local Publix, where they work together on learning to use math in a real-life situation with a budget worksheet and finding the best deals.

鈥淚f you make learning conceptual, something that makes sense to them and in their lives, trust me, they’re going to learn,鈥� Malahoo says. 鈥淭he kids are seeing math in real life, with their parents and even random shoppers doing math with them. It’s bringing back that wonder, joy and beauty of math. It validates everybody’s background and their math knowledge, and now the whole community is getting involved.鈥�

Such moments make the effort that goes into them even more important. With the national spotlight now on Malahoo’s work in her recognition as a Toyota Family Teacher of the Year finalist, she hopes to be able to create more spaces and educational opportunities that bridge gaps between families, communities and schools 鈥� and invites anyone who would like to collaborate in doing so to reach out to her.

鈥淏eing in this space where I can bring all these pieces together brings me such joy, but by no means do I do this on my own,” she says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a network of community helpers, volunteers and teachers who support our efforts. This recognition makes me feel like the work that we do at Pinewood is seen, valued and appreciated. It just reiterates the importance of pouring your heart and soul into something.鈥�