5 Harford Teacher Of Year Finalists Revealed

BEL AIR, MD — Five teachers have been named finalists for Harford County's Teacher of the Year for 2018, school officials announced on Tuesday. Two of them hail from Bel Air High School, and others are from Harford Technical High School, Ring Factory Elementary School and North Bend Elementary School.

To qualify, candidates had to be nominated and be teachers in Harford County Public Schools for at least five years. Students, guardians, colleagues and administrators could submit nominations.

The winner of Harford County Teacher of the Year will be announced April 4 at the annual Teacher of the Year banquet at The Bayou restaurant in Havre de Grace.

Here are the finalists for 2018 Harford County Teacher of the Year, in alphabetical order:

Amanda Roberts, Social Studies Teacher at Harford Technical High School

Ms. Roberts won Maryland Social Studies Instructional Leader of the Year in 2015 and for the past eight years, has been on the board of the Maryland Council for Social Studies, according to Harford County Public Schools. She has 10 years of experience in the school system, working at Edgewood Middle and Harford Technical High schools. She has a master's in educational leadership from Towson University, where she graduated summa cum laude with a major in social studies and a minor in French.

Nicole Shank, 5th Grade Teacher at Ring Factory Elementary

Mrs. Shank was selected as the Maryland teacher to attend the Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy in 2015, a program that brings together 155 teachers from across the country to learn innovative ways of approaching math and science in the classroom. She is a writer of the science standards curriculum in Harford County Public Schools and serves as a science professional development facilitator. Her master's is in STEM education from Towson University, where she earned a bachelor's in elementary and special education. Now in her sixth year teaching at Ring Factory Elementary School, Mrs. Shank is a member of the school improvement team and serves as the school's science facilitator.

Deanna Smith, Business Education Teacher at Bel Air High School
With experience as a corporate trainer at Harford Community College, Mrs. Smith received her master's degree in curriculum and instruction from McDaniel College and completed her undergraduate studies at Shepherd University. She has taught for five years at Bel Air High School, where she is the adviser for the National Business Honor Society, DECA Club and Peer Assistance and Wellness Support group. She has taught Entrepreneurship, Financial Management, Introduction to Marketing and Advanced Marketing.

Dr. Paula Stanton, English Teacher at Bel Air High School

The chair of the English Department at Bel Air High School, Dr. Stanton has been teaching in Harford County for eight years and is in her 24th year as an educator in Maryland and Washington, D.C. She teaches at the Center for Educational Opportunity and serves on the Bel Air High School Unity Committee and the Harford County Public Schools Novel Review Committee. She earned her PhD. in education from Walden University and has a bachelor's degree in English and secondary education from Howard University.

Dawn Stone, Art Teacher at North Bend Elementary School
Mrs. Stone has developed new programs at North Bend Elementary School, designing the itsLearning platform, which is a school-wide technology tool. She created an arts club that encompasses dance, design, music and drama; and through her instruction, she provides "art experiences" combining writing, math, culture and history, according to a statement from Harford County Public Schools. She is also a member of the school improvement team and county arts committee. Currently working on her master's degree in instructional technology, Mrs. Stone has two bachelor's degrees, in mass communications and art education.

The Selection Process

Once nominations were received for Harford County's Teacher of the Year, applications were scored by a panel of judges. The panel included the student school board representative, a PTA representative, former Teacher of the Year recipient, administrators and community/business representatives, according to Harford County Public Schools spokeswoman Jillian Lader. She said that between now and the selection of the Harford County Teacher of the Year in April, each finalist will be visited in the classroom.

The 2017 Teacher of the Year was Amy Mangold of John Archer School.

SEE ALSO: Harford's Teacher of the Year Makes Housecalls

Photos courtesy of Harford County Public Schools. Main image via Shutterstock.