Eat…or be eaten!

That was the activity listed on the whiteboard in Mrs. Lacey Todd’s fifth-grade science classroom at Mountain Valley Middle School in Mexico. It was time to explore food chains, and the excitement among the students was electric.

The activity? Students were given packets of cards with different animals or edible items on them. Working in groups, they had to arrange the cards into mini food chains. What does an ant eat? Who would eat this log? What happens when the hawk and the eagle eat the same thing? Once their food chains were arranged, they were asked to explain their reasoning and the class got to go around and look at the other food chains. They were then asked to draw connections between their different food chains. What was similar about all the things at the top of their chains? What was similar about everything at the bottom of the food chain? What was different?

While the students energetically created their food chains, they were surrounded in their classroom by many animals appearing on the cards they were using. Mrs. Todd’s room is filled with tanks of fish, ocean creatures, lizards, and a bearded dragon named Pumpkin. At some point in the school year, there will be a chicken and they’ll all closely watch as chicks hatch out of eggs.

Last year, she brought her students on a trip to the ocean where they were able to explore the beauty and bounty of Maine’s coast. She came back from that trip with an idea to add a saltwater tank to her classroom so that she could bring the ocean to her students every day.

Mrs. Todd’s room is the perfect place to be a young scientist, and that’s exactly what she calls them. There’s even a bulletin board filled with diverse images of people exclaiming that they are scientists, underscoring that science is for everyone and Mrs. Todd’s class is a place where everyone belongs.

That sense of belonging comes up again and again during the visit to Mountain Valley. A parent said Mrs. Todd made school feel like home for her kids. A student said that once you are her student, you are family for life. A former student said that Mrs. Todd’s classroom felt like a second home. Another said that Mrs. Todd is the reason she feels proud of herself.

Lacey Todd is the 2023 Oxford County Teacher of the Year and a 2024 Maine Teacher of the Year finalist. Her colleagues, students, and community members make clear that she is the heart and soul of Mountain Valley Middle School.

Often the first to arrive and the last to leave, a colleague said that Mrs. Todd has an enthusiasm for every day of life, for the kids, and for the staff, that she makes connections with every student, and that students come to school because they know Mrs. Todd is there. She can be found greeting everyone as they arrive at school, and if you need it you can stop by “hug alley” for a loving embrace from Mrs. Todd to get you through the school day. She’ll even make sure you won’t miss your bus in the afternoon.

She also supports her colleagues and is a leader at the school. Staff come to her when they need help solving problems. One colleague said she changed them as an educator. Another said she teaches all of us. Someone else said that if you want to be an educator or stay in the profession, go see Lacey. Mrs. Todd has an incredible passion for teaching, for teaching science, and for always learning and growing.

That passion extends beyond the school walls, as Mrs. Todd strives to strengthen the connection between the school and community, engage parents, and champion Mountain Valley everywhere she goes.

When asked for a word to describe Mrs. Todd, some of the responses from her school community included inspiring, special, invested, nurturing, helpful, amazing, home, innovative, and dedicated.

All it takes is a day at Mountain Valley, and you too will feel like you are part Mrs. Todd’s family.

Miller School in Waldoboro greets people with joy from the instant you walk in. Colorful murals cover almost every hallway. Created by classes stretching back decades, these murals tell a story about generations of students and create a connection with students and educators walking the halls today on their way to lunch, recess, or the next class. Everyone greets you with a warm smile and there’s a feeling that this is a great place to learn.

If you arrive early enough, the sound of music may draw you into Mrs. Edith Berger’s classroom. She often plays music in the morning to set a good tone for the day and share the sounds with students and staff. Her classroom is just as colorful and joyful as the rest of the school, and it’s the room everyone goes to when they have a question, need help, want to bounce an idea off someone, want a snack, or just need someone to talk to. Students and other educators know Mrs. Berger’s class is a safe, supportive, and welcoming place for all. She makes every feel seen, heard, and appreciated.

Mrs. Berger is a sixth-grade writing and social studies teacher at Miller School, the 2023 Lincoln County Teacher of the Year, and a 2024 Maine Teacher of the Year Finalist. Her colleagues, students, and community members describe her as a role model, a quiet leader, inspiring, compassionate, dedicated, creative, and professional.

In today’s writing class, where everyone is referred to as a writer, students are given various mentor texts to examine what expression and reflection look like in essays, stories, and poems. The students analyze the texts and find the spots that show why the author wrote the piece. They share their thoughts in groups and then as a class, discussing what certain passages of the writing say about the author’s purpose and making connections to their own lives. Mrs. Berger engages with the different groups and poses questions to get them to engage more deeply with the texts and make connections.

If you close your eyes, you’d think you were in a high school class.

With the school year still so fresh, the students have just started to look at personal narratives from the perspective of purpose. They’ve examined why people write and explored ways that writers get in the zone to write. These writers are blossoming.

Later in the day comes social studies, and Mrs. Berger teaches a civics lesson connected to Constitution Day. Students are provided the preamble of the Constitution, which they read together last week and identified the portions that illustrate the functions of government as viewed by the framers of the Constitution. In this class, students are given examples of American civil life, such as a federal agency providing food for children or having marshals on planes, and are asked to connect those examples to the different functions of government. The students share their reasoning in groups and then as a class. Through this, Mrs. Berger gives the Constitution life and connects it to modern examples the students can identify with.

Mrs. Berger’s colleagues say that she honors everyone’s voice, and that practice becomes a model for students. They say that she meets kids where they are while having high expectations—and that those high expectations come with a high level of support. They say she doesn’t give up on any kid—she finds a way to reach them no matter what. That’s clear with any visit to her classroom.

Her colleagues also describe her as not just a teacher of children, but also of adults, saying “I would not be the principal I am without Edie, I became a better teacher by working with Edie, she’s the room I go to if I have questions or need help, and everyone is part of her classroom.”

There are stories of Mrs. Berger responding late at night to help another teacher struggling with a lesson plan, making handmade journals for students to use to help them cope with anxiety, coming back from a conference or event full of new ideas for her class and the school, always being on the cusp of what’s new, and always finding ways to grow.

What’s also evident is just how much Mrs. Berger is a fixture of the community. Whether it’s speaking at the library about civics, bringing in guest speakers for her class, going to community events, or promoting her school, she is constantly building bridges between Miller School and the rest of the community.

Edith Berger doesn’t just teach civics; she is a true citizen. She’s also Miller School’s guiding light and helps everyone in her school community shine.

“We take care of everybody”

“Everyone is valued”

“People are kind”

Those are some of the things that Mr. Joshua Chard’s third-grade students want people to know about their school.

The Chardlings, as they’re affectionately called, go to school at East End Community School in Portland. East End is a diverse and welcoming school that sits on a hill overlooking the city and the water. Beyond extraordinary teachers, the school has its own garden with an outdoor classroom, a closet where students can get free clothes and other supplies, and a deep connection to the neighborhood and families as a community school.

Mr. Chard is one of four finalists for 2024 Maine Teacher of the Year and the 2023 Cumberland County Teacher of the Year. He was nominated by his principal and assistant principal. Colleagues say he builds relationships with every student, meets every student where they’re at, and finds joy in the uniqueness of each human.

It’s easy to see why people say that about him. On a recent morning visiting Mr. Chard’s class, he and his Chardlings were happily seated on a colorful carpet, passing around a stuffed bear and telling their visitors what’s great about their school.

Next, it was math time. With the learning target written on the board, Mr. Chard asked the class who could tell him the math learning target for the day. He called on people one by one until the entire class said in unison, “Let’s choose a scale for our bar graph!” The students were given a scenario to measure the different shapes found on a piece of paper in bar graph form. Instead of working alone, they joined groups to discuss the problem and give their reasoning for what scale they should use to measure the shapes. Today was not about getting the right answer but working through the problem together and defending their reasoning.

Later in the day, and after a snack, it was time for science. Mr. Chard and the students returned to their carpet to learn about Wabanaki history and rivers, using the Columbia River to compare to Maine’s Presumpscot River. Mr. Chard asked what the students had learned the day before, with almost every hand going up with excitement. The students talked about what they knew about the Wabanaki, the immigrants who arrived, and 20 million years since the Columbia River was first formed. But if we know the Columbia is 20 million years old, then how old would that make the Presumpscot? After lots of class discussion, the class collectively inferred that the Presumpscot must have been around the same age.

Then it was time for another of Mr. Chard’s “juicy” words—flora. Using cards with images of flora, Mr. Chard asked the class if they could tell us what flora meant. But why just talk about flora when you can experience flora? So, everyone took a card with an image of flora, and outside they all went to roam the perimeter of the school in search of flora that is often found near the banks of the Presumpscot River.

“That’s my flora!”

“I found it!”

“I think this is it!”

The Chardlings were enthusiastically committed to their mission to find their flora.

That’s just a bit of a glimpse into the engaging, project-based, immersive, and rigorous learning on display in Mr. Chard’s class.

When asked why he teaches, Mr. Chard said, “I teach because I stand tall on the shoulders of the teachers who lifted me up and saw my potential even when I couldn’t see it myself. I strive to be the teacher who lifts his students up in the same way, so that those students look back and say, ‘I stand tall on Mr. Chard’s shoulders.’ I can think of no better legacy than that.”

One of Mr. Chard’s fellow teachers talked about his magical formula that combines joy and fun with high expectations and his ability to meet the unique needs of every student. That was on full display on our wonderful day with the Chardlings.

The 2023 County Teachers of the Year cohort (CTOYs) want to share your amazing stories! During the 2023-2024 academic school year, the 2023 CTOYs will collect and share positive stories from Maine educators to elevate the teaching profession and connect with a variety of audiences. The group of teachers plan to showcase and distribute stories, images, and videos that capture the exceptional efforts of our magnificent Maine educators as they engage students in dynamic learning opportunities.

The group is trying to reach people across Maine,  any and everyone invested in Maine schools including teachers, parents, business partners, policymakers, and community members.

#LoveMaineSchools is the platform for educators to share their passion and spark conversations celebrating positive stories. A new monthly theme, intentionally broad and open to interpretation, will invite participation from all grade levels and content areas.  For instance, when the theme is “Making Connections,” submissions can effortlessly explore various aspects of creating links with individuals, families, communities, subject matter, content, and curriculum, among other possibilities. This flexible approach promotes active participation and allows diverse and imaginative interpretations of monthly themes. They want to hear from you and your school community!

As the hashtag #LoveMaineSchools gains momentum and reaches more people, they expect more teachers to share voices and stories.

Submit your stories at bit.ly/lovemaineschoolssubmit

You can see the positive messaging and stories the group has already begun sharing by following their Facebook and Instagram pages.

As part of their year of service in the Teacher of the Year Program, Maine’s State and County Teachers of the Year serve as advocates for teachers, students, and public education in Maine. They also receive ongoing professional learning and participate in many state and county leadership opportunities. For more information about the Maine Teacher of the Year program, visit the Maine Teacher of the Year website.