Educators from Cumberland, Knox and Lincoln counties have been named as the three finalists for the 2021 Maine Teacher of the Year program.

Teacher of the Year is an annual award administered by the Maine Department of Education and Educate Maine. Finalists come from 16 Maine County Teachers of the Year and a winner is expected to be announced in October.

The finalists are Cindy Soule, a fourth grade teacher at the Gerald E. Talbot Community School in Portland and the 2020 Cumberland County Teacher of the Year; Alison Babb-Brott, a second grade teacher at St. George School in St. George and the 2020 Knox County Teacher of the Year; and Heather Webster, an English teacher at Medomak Valley High School in Waldoboro and the 2020 Lincoln County Teacher of the Year.

The Teacher of the Year program is meant to celebrate outstanding professional educators in Maine. To be eligible teachers must hold a professional certification, be employed by a Maine public school, be actively teaching students at least 50 percent of full-time and have been teaching a minimum of five years, three of which are in Maine.

The program is also part of the National Teacher of the Year program. A panel representing national education organizations chooses the national winner from among the State Teachers of the Year, and that person is typically announced in April.