Kati Ozols brings energy, collaboration and encouragement to her 4th-grade math class — in the same Wylie ISD where she once was a student.
SACHSE, Texas — Spend a minute inside Kati Ozols’ 4th-grade classroom, and you might think you’ve walked into a pep rally instead of a math lesson.
“Collaborate! You’re working together — working the steps together!” Ozols calls out as students clap and respond in unison.
“Get it? Got it? Good!” It’s a catchphrase they’re primed to respond to. Hands shoot up. This is the scene at Cox Elementary School in Sachse: Kids leaning over their desks, comparing answers and debating solutions.
No one is just sitting quietly in the back.
“That is your total!” Ozols tells one group as one student eagerly explains why a number should decrease. A few minutes later, she breaks them up into small groups. This lesson is as much about collaboration as it is about coming up with the right answer. And Ozols lets them know what’s at stake here: “They’re going to get $100 Coyote Cash each!” she announces. A gasp ripples across the room.
The energy in this classroom is intentional. Ozols wants her students to feel seen, heard and supported — not intimidated by math.
“Every kid needs their personal cheerleader,” she said. “And I’m blessed with the opportunity to be the cheerleader for 63 students this year.”
For Ozols, teaching was never really a question. It was always the plan.
She still has a photo from early childhood showing all of her stuffed animals lined up in front of a whiteboard in her grandmother’s kitchen — her very first classroom.
“I couldn’t tell you what I was teaching them,” she said with a laugh. “But they were learning something.”
And it runs in the family.
Ozols’ mom was a teacher, and she grew up watching her dedication up close. She also had younger sisters, who were all too willing to play the role of students. It was a natural path to follow.
“It’s kind of been in the blood since the beginning,” she said.
Her connection to the community runs just as deep. Ozols grew up in Wylie, attended Wylie East High School — where she was a cheerleader — and married her high school sweetheart, who’s now a firefighter in nearby Allen. They made an intentional choice to raise their own daughter in the same district that brought them together, Wylie ISD.
Inside Ozols’ classroom, that hometown connection shows. She sees aspects of her younger self in the faces of her students. And she knows math can be intimidating to some. When a student struggles, Ozols searches for ways to meet them where they are.
“It’s finding their interests,” she said. “If it’s football, I’m going to write so many math questions about football. We’ll measure the yards that Patrick Mahomes threw. We’ll find ways to connect what they love to math.”
The approach works. Her classroom buzzes with problem-solving as students break down questions together, working step by step through real-world scenarios.
And her enthusiasm hasn’t gone unnoticed. Ozols was just named Cox Elementary School’s Teacher of the Year — an honor that caught her by surprise.
“Oh man, there were lots of emotions,” she said, quickly shifting the focus away from herself. “Everyone who has made me the teacher that I am — this award’s for them,” she said. “I’m a product of everyone who invested in me.”
And Ozols says recognition isn’t what matters most. Her real reward is the moment a student who once struggled suddenly starts to understand the material and feels a sense of accomplishment.
“That’s my number one job — not to teach math,” she said. “It’s to pour into my kiddos and make sure they know they have someone in their corner, cheering them on 100 percent of the way.”
At the end of the school day, Ozols stands by the door as students pack up. “Love you, goodbye!” she calls out to each one as they leave.
It’s a small moment, repeated dozens of times every afternoon. But for the boys and girls leaving school for the day, it means something simple and powerful: Someone is rooting for them. Every single day.