Silver Spring Kindergarten Teacher Named MCPS Teacher of the Year

Kristen Kane of Forest Knolls is now in the running for statewide title

April 19, 2018 10:54 a.m.

Montgomery County Public Schools on Wednesday evening announced its teacher of the year: Kristen Kane, a kindergarten instructor from Forest Knolls Elementary School in Silver Spring.

“I am proud to have Kristen Kane as our MCPS teacher of the year,” school board President Michael Durso said in a prepared statement. “Her creativity in the classroom and dedication to our students is inspiring.”

The announcement came during the Champions for Children Awards Celebration in Germantown, where school officials celebrated a number of educators and MCPS staff.

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Kane will now enter the running for the title of Maryland Teacher of the Year, an award typically announced in October. She’s been working as a kindergarten and first grade teacher at Forest Knolls since 2011 and is a kindergarten team leader and liaison to the school’s parent teacher association.

The other two finalists for teacher of the year were Edwina Kollo, a math content specialist from Shady Grove Middle School, and Janet Gallagher, a resource teacher at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School.

The three finalists were named by the Marian Greenblatt Education Fund, which gave them each $2,000.

Also honored on Wednesday during the celebration were:

  • Erin Crowley, a kindergarten teacher at Somerset Elementary in Chevy Chase, who was named a Greenblatt Rising Star Teacher of the Year;
  • Helene McLaughlin, a physics teacher at Northwood High in Silver Spring, who was also named a rising star teacher;
  • Myriam Yarbrough, principal at Paint Branch High in Burtonsville, who was given the Dr. Edward Shirley Award for Excellence in Education;
  • Stephen Ricketts, a building service manager at Hallie Wells Middle School in Clarksburg, who was recognized as the Supporting Services Employee of the Year; and
  • Gillian Huebner, chair of the school climate and safety subcommittee for the Montgomery County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations, who was named Volunteer Champion for Children.

Bethany Rodgers can be reached at bethany.rodgers@moco360.media.

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