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Meet eight Teacher of the Year semifinalists
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Angela McLaughlin, Penobscot County
Glenburn Elementary SchoolAngela McLaughlin begins teaching second grade this week at Asa Adams School in Orono. She previously was a literacy coach for grades pre-K-8 in the Glenburn Public School District in Penobscot County.
She joined Glenburn in 2000 and was the school’s first literacy coach. Previously, she taught third grade and middle school students.
She currently is an adjunct professor at the University of Maine.
McLaughlin has a master’s degree in literacy education from the University of Maine.
She now helps to teach master’s level classes in advanced reading and writing.
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Benjamin Brigham, Washington County
Shead High School, EastportBenjamin Brigham teaches English/language arts, technology, gaming and media to grades 9-12 in the Eastport School Department in Washington County.
In addition to teaching at Shead High School, Brigham is the school’s technology coordinator, supervising more than 150 computers as well as network services and equipment.
Brigham and his technology students created the “Games Are for Art” event, an annual 12-hour gaming marathon that raises funds for the Eastport Arts Center.
He serves on the board of the Eastport Arts Center and Eastern Maine Medical Center’s Child and Adolescent Care Center.
Previously, Brigham taught in Florida, Massachusetts and California, working with students from a wide range of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. He has a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Pennsylvania State University.
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Mia Morrison, Piscataquis County
Foxcroft Academy, Dover-FoxcroftMia Morrison teaches English and technology to grades 9-12 in Regional School Unit 68 in Piscataquis County.
An early adopter of using iTunes U in K-12 classrooms, Morrison was recognized by Apple in 2013 as a Distinguished Educator and travels across the country for numerous speaking engagements and workshops.
Morrison has been a technology and English teacher at Foxcroft Academy since 2007, and in 2013 was named the school’s first technology integration specialist.
She is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development, teaches courses for the Maine Educators Consortium, and has published courses through iTunes U that have a subscription of over 125,000 students around the world.
Morrison has a bachelor’s degree in geological and earth sciences from Wesleyan University, a master’s degree in hydrology and water resources science from the University of Southern Florida and a master’s degree in instructional technology from the University of Maine.
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Brenda LaVerdiere, Franklin County
Academy Hill School, WiltonBrenda LaVerdiere teaches fourth grade in Regional School Unit 9 in Wilton in Franklin County.
She has been teaching at Academy Hill School since 1999, and her entire career – all at RSU 9 – spans 38 years.
She is an adviser for the Kids Can Club, an after-school program for at-risk students, and helped establish an educational partnership with Hannaford in 1990.
LaVerdiere has a bachelor’s degree in elementary and special education from the University of Maine at Farmington and a master’s degree in education from the University of Maine.
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Jennifer Wright Gregg, Lincoln County
Great Salt Bay School, DamariscottaJennifer Wright Gregg teaches third grade in the Alternative Organization Structure 93 in Lincoln County.
She joined Great Salt Bay School in 2008 after several years teaching in Massachusetts.
At Great Salt Bay, she established the Junior Oyster program, during which her students go into the field to study aquaculture and marine science.
Wright Gregg integrates all aspects of her third-grade curriculum, including art and music, through that program.
She has a bachelor’s degree in multicultural education from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, and a master’s degree in creative arts for education from Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Talya Edlund, Cumberland County
Pond Cove Elementary School, Cape ElizabethTalya Edlund teaches third grade in the Cape Elizabeth School District in Cumberland County.
Edlund joined Pond Cove Elementary School in 2004, serving as a literacy teacher and team leader. She began her career teaching second- and third-graders at P.S. 23 Carter Woodson School in Brooklyn, New York.
Before working at Pond Cove, Edlund was program coordinator for Project Safe and Smart at Lincoln Middle School in Portland and has been an adjunct instructor at Southern Maine Community College teaching college prep reading to English language learners.
Edlund has a bachelor’s degree in humanities from the University of Michigan and a master’s in elementary education from Brooklyn College.
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Mickie Flores, Hancock County
Deer Isle-Stonington Elementary School, Deer IsleMickie Flores teaches science and algebra to grades 6-8 in Consolidated School District 13 in Hancock County.
Flores, who joined Deer Isle-Stonington Elementary School in 2011 after a career in New York, was named a Maine Governor’s STEM Fellow in 2012.
Every two weeks Flores and her students videoconference with faculty from Vanderbilt University as part of the Beaming STEM Labs/AspirNaut program. She is also a lead teacher for the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens Lunder New Naturalist Program, through which her students join 20 schools across Maine collecting, sharing and responding to biodiversity data via the Lunder website.
In New York, Flores taught for more than 16 years in Canton Central School District and was an adjunct faculty member at State University New York in Potsdam for almost 10 years.
Flores has a bachelor’s degree in animal sciences from Cornell University in New York and a master’s of science in secondary education/biology from Elmira College in New York.
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Nick Wilson, York County
Biddeford High School, BiddefordNick Wilson teaches English to grades 9-12 in the Biddeford School Department in York County.
Wilson, who began teaching at Biddeford High School in 2009, also teaches English at the University of Southern Maine’s Upward Bound program during the summers. Previously, he taught English at Marlborough (Massachusetts) High School for two years.
Wilson is on the Steering Committee for the New England Association of Schools & Colleges and coaches Biddeford High’s junior varsity baseball team.
He has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Southern Maine and a master’s in education curriculum and instruction from the University of Massachusetts. He is pursuing a certificate of advanced study in Educational Leadership.
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