Teacher appreciation week saw celebrations across the state and in our nation’s capital, in particular, for Maine’s 2016 Teacher of the Year.
Talya Edlund of Pond Cove Elementary School in Cape Elizabeth was among the State Teachers of the Year for recognition and learning in Washington, D.C. along with the recognition of the 2016 National Teacher of the Year, Connecticut’s Jahana Hayes.
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) issues the yearly award. “CCSSO is honored to support the nation’s great teachers, and I am excited that people across the nation and the world will soon learn from Jahana Hayes’ commitment to education,” said Chris Minnich, executive director of CCSSO. Every year, exemplary teachers from each state, the U.S. extra-state territories, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity are selected as State Teachers of the Year. From that group, the National Teacher of the Year is chosen by a panel representing 15 renowned education organizations, which collectively represent more than 7 million educators.