katie balboni

professional of the year

Business Teacher, Brockton High

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“I wanted to live where I teach. I wanted to be part of the community I was investing so much of myself in.”

— Katie Balboni

Katie Balboni with Brockton High dark hair smiling, sitting on a dark leather sofa, wearing a green sweater, black pants, and leopard print high heels, in front of a wooden paneled wall.
Katie Balboni with Brockton High dark hair smiling, sitting on a dark leather sofa, wearing a green sweater, black pants, and leopard print high heels, in front of a wooden paneled wall.

Katie’s path as an educator also took an important turn during the summer of COVID, when she worked as a loan officer at MBA Mortgage. The experience opened her eyes to how much she cared about financial literacy, business concepts, and real-life applicable skills — the kind students could carry with them far beyond the classroom.

While she loved teaching math, she realized she wanted to help students understand the language of money, business, and opportunity. So when a position opened in the Business Department in the fall of 2023, Katie made the move.

It meant learning an entirely new curriculum and stepping into unfamiliar territory, but it also unlocked new opportunities for her students. Through business education, Katie has been able to cultivate professional relationships, connect students with outside partners, and help build pathways between Brockton High School and the broader professional world.

The shift was more than a department change. It was a calling coming into focus.

Most people may not know that Katie did not originally go to school for education. She started as a communications major before switching to business marketing. During her time at Bridgewater State, she met Professor Wolk, whose classroom changed the direction of her life. Sitting there during her senior fall, nearing graduation, Katie realized she did not want a career in marketing. She wanted his role.

She wanted to teach.

Through what she describes as divine intervention, that calling led her to Brockton High School.

Today, Katie sees BHS as one of Brockton’s greatest assets — a place filled with hardworking students, meaningful opportunities, and people whose stories deserve to be seen and celebrated. Her goal is to strengthen the connection between the school and the city, so the broader community recognizes the incredible talent, programming, and potential already inside its walls.

For Katie, Brockton High School is not just where she works.

It is her forever work home.

Katie Balboni did not arrive in Brockton with a long-term plan to stay. At first, Brockton High School was simply an opportunity.

As a college student looking for extra income, Katie learned from her college field hockey coach — who was teaching at Brockton High at the time — that she could work as a substitute teacher. She was not from the South Shore, and her understanding of Brockton was limited. But what began as a temporary job soon became something far more meaningful.

That time as a substitute eventually turned into an offer to become a math teacher after graduation. From the beginning, Katie felt something she still remembers clearly: she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

As she became more involved at Brockton High, her connection to the school and the city only deepened. She began coaching softball in her first year, added track and field in her second, and by her third year, she became the varsity field hockey coach. At the time, she was living in Boston, but the more she invested in Brockton, the more obvious the next step became.

She moved to Brockton because she wanted to live where she taught.

That decision became one of the most defining choices of her life.

Although Katie grew up in Townsend, Massachusetts, she says Brockton gave her a sense of connection she had not felt elsewhere. She may not have been born here, but Brockton became home.

quick hits

professional of the year

Industry
Education / Business Education

Role
Business Teacher, Brockton High School

Professional Focus
Financial literacy, business concepts, career readiness, and real-life skills

Previous Teaching Role
Math Teacher

Coaching Experience
Softball, Track & Field, Varsity Field Hockey

Defining Move
Transitioning into the Business Department in 2023

Mission
Helping students connect classroom learning to real-world opportunity

Brockton Connection
Moved to Brockton to live in the community where she teaches

Brockton In One Word
Home

why they stand out

Katie Balboni represents the kind of professional who does not simply do the job , she becomes part of the place.

Her story is powerful because Brockton was not the place she was expected to build her life around. She chose it. What began as a substitute teaching opportunity became a career, a calling, a home, and a deep commitment to the students of Brockton High School.

That choice matters.

At a time when cities like Brockton need strong bridges between education, workforce development, business, and community pride, Katie is helping build those connections from inside the classroom. Her move from math into business education was not just a professional transition. It was a strategic shift toward giving students practical tools they can use in real life: financial literacy, business understanding, confidence, and exposure to professional pathways.

What makes Katie especially compelling is her belief in Brockton High School itself. She sees what is possible inside the building every day — the talent, the ambition, the programs, the educators, the coaches, and the students with stories that deserve more recognition.

Her vision is not only to teach students. It is to help the city see its school differently.

Katie is building toward a Brockton where the community feels proud of Brockton High School, where families understand the depth of opportunity available there, and where students are connected to the future they deserve.

She is not just teaching business.
She is helping students see themselves as future professionals.

And she is doing it here.

A woman with long brown hair wearing a green sweater and black pants standing next to a wooden-paneled wall inside a building with framed pictures on the wall and a patterned carpet on the floor.
A woman with long dark hair smiling, wearing a green sweater, standing indoors near a wooden counter.
A woman standing in a room with wood-paneled walls, smiling and crossing her arms. She is wearing a green knit sweater, black pants, and patterned high heels. Behind her, there is a black leather couch, two framed pictures on the wall, and patterned
A woman with long brown hair, smiling, sitting on a black leather sofa in a wood-paneled room, wearing a green knit sweater, black pants, and leopard print high heels.
Woman with brown hair smiling, standing in a room with wood-paneled walls, posing with her arms outstretched. She's wearing a green sweater and black pants, with black high heels. Behind her is a black leather sofa, and above her are two framed pictu
Group of girls and women posing with field hockey sticks on an outdoor field at a high school stadium during evening.
Two male graduates in caps and gowns standing with a woman in the middle at a graduation ceremony.
A group of women and girls in softball uniforms gathers on a baseball field for a photo, with some holding flowers. There are spectators and a few balloons in the background. The sky is overcast.
Two women standing close together in a hallway, smiling at the camera. The woman on the left has dark skin, is wearing a pink blouse, black cardigan, black pants, and pink high-heeled shoes. She has dark hair pulled back and is wearing a lanyard. The
Group photo of diverse people gathered indoors for an event or meeting, with some seated and others standing, in a room with large windows and indoor lighting.

Katie’s story is a reminder that home is not always where you start. Sometimes, it is where your purpose becomes clear.

For Katie Balboni, that place is Brockton.

A city she describes simply as:

“Home.”

A school she calls her forever work home.
A community she chose to invest in.
A generation of students she is helping prepare for what comes next.

This is only the beginning.

Explore the full Freshman Class ’26

a new generation of leaders, creatives, entrepreneurs, and community builders shaping Brockton’s next chapter.

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