2020 Teacher of the Year Finalists

The 2020 Teacher of the Year finalists, collectively known as the QuaranTeam 5, have worked tirelessly over the past two years to create new and engaging content for their fellow educators as they’ve navigated unprecedented challenges in their classrooms and at home. In March 2020, we all experienced a shift in not only our professional lives but our personal lives as well. As many educators did, the QuaranTeam 5 navigated this shift with grace, guiding their students through this transition by crafting rich virtual learning environments for their students to continue to learn and thrive. Taking what they learned from the virtual learning experience, the QuaranTeam 5 has created numerous documents, videos, presentations, and more to further the professional development, mental and physical health, and overall well-being of their peers. These five educational leaders have used their platform as Teacher of the Year finalists to enrich the teaching profession in Harford County, and a summary of their efforts are outlined below.

The QuaranTeam 5 worked through the summer of 2020 to help craft and refine a hybrid learning plan for returning to school in the fall. As the pandemic progressed, the hybrid learning plan was changed to a plan for returning to the classroom virtually.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the HCPS Office of Student Support Services worked to create staff professional development focused on the emotional recovery of staff members. The pandemic left many unsure of what the future would hold for themselves and for the students in their classrooms. With their focus on mental health, the QuaranTeam 5 lent their assistance and expertise to shape the professional development to best suit the ever-changing needs of their peers.

Working with the HCPS Parent Academy, the QuaranTeam 5 developed a Parent Academy Real Talk video event called “Successfully Navigating the New Learning Environment.” In this Real Talk, the group shares insight and recommendations on topics such as creating a home learning environment for virtual learning, the importance of taking breaks, student engagement, monitoring student growth and progress, and more.

The QuaranTeam 5 presented to HCPS leadership on “Employee Morale.” Using their vast knowledge and experience in classrooms, the Team shared their feelings on the importance of employee morale.

In April 2021, The QuaranTeam 5 had the opportunity to speak with the Harford County Regional Association of Student Councils (HCRASC) about the importance of student voice. They worked with middle and high school students to discuss the importance of communication, provided examples of best practices, and asked students to share examples of using their voice this during the 2020-2021 school year to represent their peers. To conclude, they asked students to complete the sentence starter, “I want my teachers to know that…” This word cloud represents some of their thoughts; please click to see it enlarged.

Working with the HCPS Office of Student Support Services, the QuaranTeam 5 supported efforts to continue to focus on the emotional recovery of teachers. As the pandemic caused many changes to planning and scheduling, the Team utilized their classroom experiences to share insight on what teachers were going through with navigating virtual and in-person learning environments.

In recent years, HCPS has made school safety and security a top priority. The QuaranTeam 5 worked closely with the established School Safety Focus Group to share their knowledge of classrooms and schools to aid the creation of new and improved safety measures.

During the 2020-2021 school year, the QuaranTeam 5 choose to shine a light on mental health issues and maintaining mental well-being. The Team researched ideas and consulted with mental health professionals, in order to share helpful tips and strategies for building better mental health in our professional community. This information was shared each month in the HCPS 411 Update.

In December 2020, As a part of their Mental Health Minute campaign, the QuaranTeam 5 created a weekly holiday trivia program to promote employee morale. Each week a holiday trivia question was posed to all HCPS employees, and the staff member who correctly answered the trivia question was awarded one of many prize giveaways!

The QuaranTeam 5 collaborated to create a workshop for new HCPS teachers, focusing on resilience. In addition to this workshop, the Team produced an e-book to support teachers in areas such as mental health, communication, collaboration, and digital resources.

Click here to view the e-book!

Virtual learning made it more challenging for teachers and students to find ways to connect and engage. This new form of learning pushed us to find new ways to engage students, and that can be difficult. Many teachers expressed how much it would help to be able to see students; to read their body language, see their faces, and any possible distractions. We realize that turning cameras on is not an option for all students and would like to help you to find ways to engage your students in a variety of ways.

The physical and mental health of HCPS teachers and staff is important to the QuaranTeam 5. They are committed to keeping a focus on the health of HCPS colleagues and in doing so created the HCPS Health Challenge. The HCPS Health Challenge encouraged staff members to participate in activities to support staying fit - both mentally and physically. Members of the Team worked with sponsors to provide prizes to participants, and the book 180 Days of Self Care for Busy Educators was provided to the first 50 teachers to participate!

Karen Gonzalez, Special Education Teacher

Jennifer Knoll, Teacher Specialist

Erinn Ragan, Fourth Grade Teacher

Melissa Van Ruiten, Third Grade Teacher

Elizabeth White, Social Studies Teacher