(Pictured L to R: EMME President Stephanie Carbonneau, awardee Sheanna Zimmerman and Director of Multilingual Programs in South Portland April Perkins)

Sheanna Zimmerman of South Portland Schools was awarded the English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Teacher of the Year by the Educators for Multilingual Maine (EMME) on March 8, 2024.

“The last two years have been the most incredible and fulfilling years of my career. As many of you know, South Portland welcomed hundreds of new multilingual students and families in a short time. I had the honor of supporting our district as we developed a multilingual intake and orientation process, hired multilingual specialists, expanded our ESOL programming, and doubled the size of our ESOL team. I’m proud of these accomplishments and want to thank our South Portland administration and teachers who have continued to embrace opportunities for growth.”

From all of us at the Maine Department of Education, congratulations Sheanna!

Educators for a Multilingual Maine (EMME) is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote and improve the teaching and study of languages and cultures of the world. EMME also strives to further the common interests of teachers, students, and others in Maine, for whom languages play an important role. EMME was formerly known as FLAME, the Foreign Language Association of Maine.

Learn more about EMME or the ESOL Teacher of the Year award, please visit the EMMC website or reach out to EMMC at communications@emmaine.org.