Currents in Education
York students hail Deb Bradburn as their own teacher of the year
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK VILLAGE - A Narraguagus high school teacher may have been named "Teacher of the Year" for the state of Maine on Friday, Oct. 13, but students, teachers, parents and administrators in York had another choice: Deb Bradburn.For an entire year, this Coastal Ridge Elementary School fourth-grade teacher has been in the media's eye, first with being honored as a nominee for Teacher of the Year and then through the process as she advanced to the rank of finalist for this year's big award.
Friday the 13th was not a lucky day for York, when the official announcement came form Augusta that a Narraguagus High School teacher, Brittany Ray, was named 2007 Maine Teacher of the Year by Gov. John Baldacci and Maine Commissioner of Education Susan A. Gendron.
The announcement also commended Bradburn and this year's other two finalists, Chris Indorf of Thornton Academy in Saco and Luci Levesque of Capital Area Technical Center in Augusta.
As Gendron put it, "Maine has some of the finest, most experienced educators in America, and we honor all of Maine's teachers by recognizing in our Teacher of the Year the qualities of excellence that exist in teachers and schools all over the State."
Bradburn was the only elementary school teacher to be named a finalist in this year's selection process.
On Friday, Bradburn's colleagues at Coastal Ridge Elementary School honored her with a school-wide assembly - complete with flowers and the cheers and support from the school's third- and fourth-grade students. The students listened as Principal Jane Stephenson spoke of Bradburn's excellence as an educator, and of her representation of the excellence of York's teachers in general.
The students at Coastal Ridge were quick to agree that the best teachers in Maine come from York.
As Stephenson acknowledged Friday, and as Bradburn has repeatedly stated throughout the Teacher of the Year selection process, a significant portion of the honor of being a finalist comes from the state-wide recognition of the importance of education.
As Bradburn put it prior to the final decision on Maine's 2007 Teacher of the Year, she was honored to be counted in the company of Maine's quality teachers - an honor she repeatedly said she shares with teachers from across the York Schools.
"I am supposed to represent the York Schools and I had a lot of people involved in that process," Bradburn said when she was named as a finalist for Maine Teacher of the Year this summer. "We certainly put in the effort, whether we go all the way or not."
According to the Maine Board of Education, which sponsors the program with funding from Hannaford Supermarkets, this year's selection process began with 14 nominees representing all grade levels and schools from every part of the state. The field was then narrowed to regional and state finalists. The finalists were interviewed by several former Teachers of the Year who made the final determination.
The selection of the National Teacher of the year will be announced in April at the White House.
