A Norway teacher makes the first cut in the countdown to be Teacher of the Year.
By Jim Smedley
Staff Writer

NORWAY – Jane K. Morse is one of the top 10 teachers in the state. Her principal, George Sincerbeaux, isn’t surprised.

He thinks she’s the best.

It was Sincerbeaux’s idea to enter Morse, a teacher at Guy E. Rowe Elementary, as a candidate for the Maine Department of Education Teacher of the Year award.

“She’s the best classroom teacher and team player I have ever seen,” Sincerbeaux said. “I’ve been an educator for 29 years, and I have never nominated anybody.

“Her classroom is alive. There’s a lot of learning going on there,” he said.

She has been teaching for 26 years, 22 of them at the Rowe school. She had been special education teacher for 15 years and has taught first-grade for the past seven.

She teaches reading, writing and speaking for half of the day, then teaches a graduate course in literacy to other teachers in the district. In her third job, she serves as technology liaison, keeping the school’s computers running.

She team teaches her first-grade class with Melissa Fagan, who covers mathematics and other subjects.

Morse has her master’s degree in special education and is an adjunct professor through the University of Maine.

She said she wanted to teach first-graders because it is a year that a child experiences tremendous growth.

“My most important job is teaching first-graders to read and write,” Morse said.

According to Gail Mazzaro, an education specialist with the Maine Department of Education and Teacher of the Year coordinator, 28 candidates were nominated.

In April, that number was cut to 10 regional finalists.

Next week, a panel from the state will do a classroom visit and talk to administrators, students, parents, colleagues and community members about Morse.

Mazzaro said that in July, finalists will be called in to do an oral presentation. Later that month they will be asked to submit a portfolio.

She said grades received from the interviews, oral presentation and portfolio will be added together, and the top two or three advance as state finalists.

Those finalists must be interviewed by a panel of former Maine teachers of the year.

“They select the person they think would best represent all teachers in Maine,” Mazzaro said.

The winner is announced in the first couple of weeks in September. After that, the winning teacher from every state is included in a national competition.

“It’s been a nice honor so far and great to get to the top 10,” Morse said. “But now, it’s probably going to be a lot of work.”

jsmedley@sunjournal.com