Berol Dewdney, a pre-k teacher at the Commodore John Rogers School in Baltimore, was named Maryland’s teacher-of-the-year, and Tara Hughes, a special education teacher at the Nye Early Childhood Center in Santa Fe was awarded the New Mexico teacher-of-the-year honor.
Both teachers were interviewed for the NPR radio program Here and Now. They talked about the importance of early learning, the science of early brain development, the role of playful learning, and the opportunity to develop a curriculum that includes neurodiverse learners.
The interview is definitely worth a listen! At the following link, you can find a recording and transcript.
Every year, a National Teacher-of-the-Year is chosen from among the 50 teachers selected as their state’s teacher-of-the-year and from the nominees from the District of Columbia, U.S. extra-state territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity.
And, although the National Teacher-of-the-Year Award has existed since 1952, it wasn’t until 2020 that a preschool educator was selected as a State Teacher-of-the-Year. Tabatha Rosproy, the preschool teacher at Winfield Early Learning Center who was named the 2020 Kansas teacher-of-the-year, went on to be selected 2020 National Teacher-of-the-Year!
