The Maine Department of Education honored two educators at an annual dinner event held at the Maple Hill Farm Inn, located in Hallowell, earlier this month. Kirsten Gould, the District Assessment for Learning Coach at Buxton Center Elementary School (MSAD 6), and Heather Dorr, a 5th Grade Teacher at Ella Lewis School in Steuben (RSU 24) were both named state finalists for the 2018 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching are the nation’s highest honors for teachers of mathematics and science. Awardees serve as models for their colleagues, inspiration to their communities, and leaders in the improvement of mathematics and science education.
The evening event included social networking with past awardees, dinner, and official congratulations from Wilson Hess, Chair of the Maine State Board of Education and Beth Lambert, Maine DOE Coordinator of Secondary Education and Integrated Instruction. The keynote address was delivered by Leigh Peake, Chief Education Officer at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, whose message to the audience was to “embrace messy,” when it comes to quantifying often-times messy data and taking on the inevitable challenges of an ever changing and anarchic fields of math, science, and beyond.
Kirsten Gould
District Assessment for Learning Coach
Buxton Center Elementary School in MSAD 6
Kirsten has a passion for effective STEM education at the elementary level. Her support of professional development for her colleagues has made her a committed and powerful teacher-leader in her community and beyond. In addition to her leadership with the Maine Elementary Sciences Partnership, Kirsten collaborates as part of her district’s vertical science team, provides school and district-level professional development around teaching and assessing at the elementary level, and this year, does Assessment for Learning work for her district colleagues.
Heather Dorr
5th Grade Teacher
Ella Lewis School in Steuben (RSU 24)
A tireless advocate for students, Heather is skilled at meeting all her students where they are and advancing their learning. She is fluent with the curriculum standards and has an impressive management system imbedded with standards-based learning. A highly sought out mentor teacher to countless beginning teachers and student teachers, she is always eager and willing to share her knowledge and expertise with others. More recently, Heather has served as a leader in her work to develop a Collaborative Response Model (CRM) alongside her colleagues at RSU 24. Heather Door was unable to make it to the event but is expected to be honored at a special ceremony next month.
The state finalists were presented with certificates from the PAEMST program and will be in the running for a trip to Washington, DC, which will include professional development experiences and networking with other math and science educators from around the nation.
For more information about the PAEMST Program, contact the PAEMST State Coordinator for mathematics, Michele Mailhot, at michele.mailhot@maine.gov, or for science, Shari Templeton, at shari.templeton@maine.gov.