Profile of a Burned-in Leader: Carly Ginter, Huntington Beach Union High School District Teacher of the Year

Carly Ginter is the English department coordinator and technology resource teacher at COAST School – an alternative school that channels students’ strengths to revive hope, progress, and latent potential. In March 2025, Huntington Beach Union High School District named Ginter a Teacher of the Year.

Ginter embraces the transformative potential that’s inherent to overcoming obstacles. “Every student who enrolls at our school completes the scientifically validated signature strengths inventory introduced to us by Burn In Mindset,” she said. “We want to approach student learning holistically and reconnect all students with their natural strengths to help transform the deficit-based self-view that they often carry inside them.”

This strengths-based approach infuses challenges with hope — one of Ginter’s top strengths. “I recall a student who struggled to begin an essay, a common struggle for teenagers,” she said. “The blank page that sat in front of her felt overwhelming, paralyzing her creativity and motivation. Recognizing the frustration, I suggested we step back and seek inspiration. This was a perfect opportunity to teach the student how to assess her options, explore alternate pathways, and find a new approach.” Hope in action — as modeled by Ginter — transferred to her student, dissolved the block, and sparked a breakthrough.

This is a common phenomenon at COAST School, where principal Angela Harding has steeped staff and student culture in the science of well-being. Faculty receive 1:1 coaching and cohort-based professional development through Burn-in Mindset and then transfer the skills directly to students, building a sense of collective efficacy.  “Burn in mindset has provided us (as a school) with a common language of strategies that we can deploy on a daily basis while working with students,” Ginter explained. “Not only do we utilize these strategies ourselves, but we also teach our students in order to connect them with and leverage their strengths and build their resilience muscle.”

Ginter herself is a self-described wellspring of “burn-in,” characterized by optimism, energy, and self-efficacy. “I am deeply intentional about how I spend my energy, recognizing that the daily experience and emotional climate of our students is shaped by the teachers and staff at Coast,” she emphasized. Prioritizing self-care, including exercise and time in nature, is crucial for her. “I feel strongly about the impact of exercise, a healthy diet, and sleep to keep me ‘burned in’ because I notice a significant difference in my energy and focus if I am lacking in any of these areas.” 

With 15 years under her belt and Teacher of the Year award in her name, Ginter looks forward to another life-giving chapter in her career as an educator. She concluded, “I have learned that energy is a form of currency, and being able to generate and sustain energy through the use of Burn-in Mindset strategies elevates my ability to provide high calibre teaching.”