Brooklyn Park Middle School Language Arts teacher Emily Davis has been named the 2019-2020 Anne Arundel County Public Schools Teacher of the Year.
Superintendent George Arlotto made the surprise announcement to Davis and her colleagues during what they thought was simply a virtual staff meeting earlier today. The announcement would have taken place at the 34th annual Excellence in Education Awards dinner, but that event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“First and foremost, for me this is about being a voice for my students, for my school, and for other teachers in Anne Arundel County,” said Davis, who has spent six years sharing her passion for reading through arts integration strategies. “I am committed to supporting the furthering of equity professional development, to filling in those gaps that exist for a lot of our students, and to representing the amazing teachers that we have in this county.”
Davis is the seventh middle school teacher to win the award since its inception in 1986-87. She now will compete for Maryland State Teacher of the Year, an honor that will be announced next fall.
AACPS has had two of the last three Maryland Teacher of the Year winners, Teresa Beilstein of South Shore Elementary School (2020) and Josh Carroll of South River High School (2018). AACPS Teachers of the Year have also been finalists for Maryland Teacher of the Year in each of the last five years and in seven of the last nine years.
Through a co-taught instructional model, Davis takes great care to encourage and nurture every student’s academic, social, and emotional development. This approach yields great strides for students who previously struggled with reading.
“I used to hate reading with a passion, but now that Mrs. Davis got me into reading, I love it and my reading level has improved,” a former student who has written their own book wrote in an endorsement letter that accompanied Davis’ nomination.
Davis “has an unfailing love for our students,” said co-teaching colleague Ashley Coleman, who was part of the meeting where Davis received the news (to see the surprise, click here). “Throughout the years, I have seen her take time and effort to build a positive rapport and relationship with all students. She even goes out of her way to reach the students we do not teach.”
Fifty-five educators from public and private schools were recognized during in year’s Excellence in Education program. Other finalists for this year’s Anne Arundel County Public Schools Teacher of the Year honor were:
- Lindsay Breach, a fourth-grade teacher at Glendale Elementary School
- Mollie Dwyer, a special education teacher at Waugh Chapel Elementary School
- Tema Encarnacion, an English Language Acquisition teacher at Annapolis High School
- David Fawley, a marine service technology teacher at the Center of Applied Technology South
- Hope Turner, a language arts teacher at Marley Middle School
Olechowski, the 2019-2020 Independent Schools Teacher of the Year, is a National Board Certified visual arts teacher at St. Mary’s Elementary School. Camille Baumann, a science teacher at St. Mary’s High School, was also a finalist for the Independent Schools honor.
Anne Arundel County Public School remains committed to honoring all 55 of this year’s honorees. The honors banquet has been rescheduled for September.
Please click here for more details about the Excellence in Education awards celebration.