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Meet the
2024 County Teachers
of the Year!
Meet Joshua Chard the
2024 Maine Teacher
of the Year!

HONORING THOSE WHO DO MORE 
THAN ANYONE ELSE TO EDUCATE MAINE.

The Maine Teacher of the Year program is managed and administered as a collaboration between Educate Maine and the Maine Department of Education. 

OUR MISSION

To honor and celebrate excellence in teaching and elevate the importance and impact of the teaching profession.

At Educate Maine, we believe the classroom teacher is the backbone of the American educational system. That is why we partner with the Maine Department of Education to administer and manage the Maine Teacher of the Year. The program honors the contributions and elevates the voice of Maine’s classroom teachers. The County and State Teachers of the Year serve as ambassadors of the teaching profession, and advocates for quality education of Maine students. 

The Maine Teacher of the Year program honors the contributions and elevates the voice of Maine’s classroom teachers. Maine selects 16 County Teachers of the Year, one of whom will be selected as the State Teacher of the Year. The State Teacher of the Year is Maine's nominee for National Teacher of the Year. The County and State Teachers of the Year serve as ambassadors of the teaching profession, and advocates for quality education of Maine students. 

Selecting a Teacher of the Year is meant to celebrate the thousands of outstanding professional educators in Maine schools, not to single out any individual as the best teacher in Maine.

Our objectives 

  1. Recognize and honor the contributions of Maine’s public classroom teachers (PK-12, Career and Technical Education, SpecialEducation, Adult Education, and Specialists);
  2. Elevate the impact of Maine's educators, the importance of the profession, and inspire future and current teachers;
  3. Create greater public awareness of Maine’s extraordinary teachers and showcase the great things happening in Maine schools;
  4. Build a network of teacher leaders, amplify the voice of educators, and enhance the personal and professional development of the teacher candidates; and
  5. Assist in ongoing efforts to grow, strengthen, and diversify Maine's educator workforce.

Our expectations

  1. A commitment to excellence and nurturing the achievement of all students; and
  2. Exemplary skills that are recognized by students, colleagues, parents, and all other members of your school’s community. 

Learn more about our program, meet the Maine Teachers of the Year, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and nominate a teacher today!

ELIGIBILITY

To be considered for County and State Teacher of the Year, a person must:

  • Have a minimum of five years of teaching - three of which are in Maine;
  • Hold the appropriate professional certification for their teaching position;
  • Be a certified in good standing, PK-12 teacher in a state-accredited public school, including a career and technical education and adult education center, a public charter school, or a publicly supported secondary school (a private school that enrolls 60 percent or more publicly funded students, sometimes referred to as "town academies");
  • Be actively teaching students at least fifty percent of the workday at the time of nomination and during their year of recognition; and
  • Maintain their teaching position and remain in the County for which they are selected throughout the year of recognition.

CRITERIA

The Maine Teacher of the Year candidate has the respect and admiration of their colleagues and:

  • Is an expert in their field who advances growth for students of all backgrounds and abilities;
  • Builds collaborative relationships with colleagues, students, and families to create a culture of equity and success;
  • Deliberately connects the classroom to the community to impact student growth and learning;
  • As a lifelong learner and teacher leader, they utilize innovation to create learning experiences within and beyond the classroom; and 
  • Expresses themselves in an engaging and clear way, conveying the lived classroom experience to a variety of audiences.

2023 Maine Teacher of the Year

Matt Bernstein
Matt Bernstein

“I’m extremely humbled and grateful for this recognition and, even more so, for the opportunity to work with inspiring colleagues, families, and students and for the guidance I’ve received throughout my career from so many in my community. The recognition I am receiving currently is only possible because of how much others have done, and continue to do, to support me and because I have the gift of working with incredible students.” 

Matt Bernstein is a 9th grade humanities social studies teacher at Casco Bay High School in Portland, Maine. 

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Matt Bernstein

2022 Maine Teacher of the Year

Kelsey Stoyanova
Kelsey Stoyanova

"I am passionate about books. One of my favorite things to do is to match students with the right books for them. Books that offer them mirrors -- glimpses of themselves so that they feel seen, or windows -- a view of identities and experiences they might not live but can learn and grow from. Sharing these stories fosters empathy. Sharing stories opens doors. Sharing stories changes perspectives. Sharing stories affirms identities. Sharing stories shows us that we are never alone."

Kelsey Stoyanova teaches 8th grade students Language Arts and Writing at Reeds Brook Middle School in Hampden (RSU 22).

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Kelsey Stoyanova

2021 Maine Teacher of the Year

Cindy Soule
Cindy Soule

“I’m really overwhelmed with a myriad of emotions, but what I feel most is a deep sense of pride – pride in our school, pride in the learning community we have created together and pride in the fact that the reason I was selected as Maine Teacher of the Year stems from the work we have collectively accomplished across Portland schools together"

Cindy Soule is a 4th grade teacher at the Gerald E. Talbot Community School in Portland, Maine.  

read more

Cindy Soule
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NOMINATE A TEACHER
NOMINATE
A TEACHER

The Teacher of the Year journey starts with YOUR NOMINATION!

Nominations open from January 1, 2024 to January 31, 2024 at 5 pm.

Whether you’re a student who’s learned from a great teacher, a colleague, administrator, parent or an interested member of the community, here’s your chance to recognize one of Maine’s classroom stars.

A PROGRAM OF

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