Teacher of the Year Program
Teacher of the Year Nominations
It’s Time to Nominate a Great Educator for Wicomico Teacher of the Year!
Celebrate a great teacher with a nomination for Wicomico Teacher of the Year! Nominations will be taken through Dec. 2 for the next Wicomico Teacher of the Year. Anyone in the community may seek recognition for an educator quickly and easily using the online nomination form. Access the nomination form through the school system's website (www.wcboe.org/nominate) or by using the QR code.
The Wicomico Teacher of the Year Program provides students, parents, colleagues, and others in the community the opportunity to nominate, celebrate and honor top educators from around the school system. Outstanding teachers may be nominated in each Wicomico school as well as in Wicomico’s special programs (Birth to Five program, English Language Support Center, Choices Academy and Wicomico Elementary Virtual Academy). The online nomination form is available in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. Paper forms in each language are available on request by contacting any school office or the main office of the school system.
Each school’s top three nominees and a representative of each special program will attend the Wicomico Teacher of the Year Kickoff Celebration on Thursday, Jan. 12. Quarterfinalists will be recognized and the Teacher of the Year semifinalist for each school and for special programs will be announced at the end of the evening.
The semifinalists will participate in the Fishbowl public speaking event in early 2023, and will interview with a blue-ribbon judging panel. An event to celebrate all of the semifinalists, to name the four finalists, and to announce the 2023-2024 Wicomico Teacher of the Year will be held in the spring.
“Great teachers affect the lives of students and families in lasting, positive ways. As a former student in our schools, I have many memories of outstanding teachers who supported me in being successful in school and being prepared for college and career,” said Dr. Micah Stauffer, Superintendent of Schools. “We have amazing teachers in Wicomico County Public Schools, and the Wicomico Teacher of the Year Recognition Program is a great opportunity to let those teachers know just how much we appreciate them.”
Wicomico Teachers of the Year model teaching excellence. Current Wicomico Teacher of the Year Rebecca Mathews, a science teacher at Wicomico High, was a finalist for Maryland Teacher of the Year, as were the two Wicomico Teachers of the Year before her, Dustin Thomas (Prince Street Elementary) and Hemalatha Bhaskaran (James M. Bennett High).
Wicomico is proud to have on its staff three former Maryland Teachers of the Year: Bonnie Walston (1994), then a resource teacher at Parkside High School and now the Director of Special Education; Aaron Deal (2004), then a computer education teacher at Salisbury Middle and now the Supervisor of New Teacher Induction and Educational Technology; and April Todd, who was named both Somerset and Maryland Teacher of the Year and is now a middle school Thinking and Doing (TAD) teacher for Wicomico Schools.
Nomination form: