Educators in Biddeford, Freeport and Topsham are among 16 county teachers of the year for 2021 to be recognized by the Maine Department of Education and nonprofit Educate Maine for their contributions in the classroom.

Christine Goulet, a second-grade teacher at Biddeford Primary School, is the 2021 York County Teacher of the Year. Cumberland County’s Teacher of the Year is Paige Fournier, a special education teacher at Freeport Middle School, and Lianna Fenimore, an English teacher at Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham, is the Sagadahoc County Teacher of the Year.

The teachers are now in the running for Maine Teacher of the Year, a recognition given annually with the aim of elevating the voices of educators.

“We’re so proud of the leadership displayed over the past year from county and state teachers of the year across Maine,” said Jason Judd, executive director of Educate Maine, in a virtual ceremony Wednesday. “To be certain, this has been a year of challenges and opportunities. Remote learning, hybrid classrooms and modified in-person instruction are just some of the terms and situations that have been commonplace for us. Educators learned new technology, adjusted, pivoted and proved again and again they can adopt and shine under less than ideal conditions.”

Finalists will be selected during the summer, and the state teacher of the year will be announced in October.

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