Teachers from all 16 of Maine’s counties were honored today in a virtual announcement that was broadcast live on the Maine Department of Education’s YouTube page.

As part of the Maine Teacher of the Year Program, hundreds of teachers across Maine are nominated by a member of their school community. Through a rigorous application process, one teacher from each county is selected as the County Teacher of the Year by a panel of teachers, principals, and business community members within the county.

During the ceremony, teachers were honored by Maine Department of Education Commissioner, Pender Makin; Educate Maine Executive Director, Jason Judd; State Board of Education member, Peter Geiger; 2021 Maine Teacher of the Year, Cindy Soule; Maine County, State Teachers of the Year Association Co-President Shana Goodall; and Maine’s 2021 Poetry Out Loud Champion, Emily Paruk, a senior from Gorham High School.

2021 County Teachers of the Year:

After being named, Maine County Teachers of the Year serve as ambassadors for teachers, students, and quality education state-wide throughout the year, and continue to participate in an intensive Maine State Teacher of the Year selection process.

The Maine County Teachers of the Year are available to make presentations to local and regional organizations.

The Maine Department of Education’s Teacher of the Year Program is administered through a collaborative partnership with Educate Maine. To learn more about the Teacher of the Year Program visit: https://www.mainetoy.org/

For more information about the 2021 Maine County Teachers of the year contact Rachel Paling (Maine DOE) at rachel.paling@maine.gov or Dolly Sullivan (Educate Maine) at dolly@educatemaine.org.