The finalists include two elementary, two middle school, and two high school teachers, representing a diverse range of subjects from Spanish to instrumental music to physical education.
The finalists were surprised at their respective schools by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Bedell, members of the Board of Education, and Mark Hoffmann, president of the Education Foundation of Anne Arundel County Public Schools.
The finalists are Nea Baker, Spanish teacher at Lindale Middle School; Ian Burns, instrumental music teacher at Arundel High School; Mary Kay Connerton, physical education and health teacher at Annapolis High School; Alexis Cutler, second-grade teacher at Tyler Heights Elementary School; Courtney Kenney, physical education teacher at South Shore Elementary School; and Christine Colli McCallister, science teacher at Magothy River Middle School.
In addition to the finalists, Pamela Hernick, social studies teacher at St. Mary’s High, and Coral Shreve, pre-kindergarten teacher at St. Paul’s Lutheran, were named finalists for the Anne Arundel County Independent Schools Teacher of the Year.
All finalists will be honored at the 37th Annual Excellence in Education Awards Event on April 20, 2023, at Live! Arundel Mills. They will be joined by 44 other Anne Arundel County teachers who have been nominated for the award.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools has a strong record of producing exceptional educators. Two recent Maryland Teacher of the Year winners, Teresa Beilstein of South Shore Elementary School (2020) and Josh Carroll of South River High School (2018), have come from the school district. AACPS Teachers of the Year have also been finalists for Maryland Teacher of the Year in seven of the last eight years.