OCEAN CITY – Local officials crowned Cedar Chapel Special School’s Karen Holland as Worcester County’s top educator at Friday’s 2018 Teacher of the Year banquet.
The ballroom at the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel erupted with applause following the announcement that Holland, a Stephen Decatur High School graduate, was this year’s Teacher of the Year.
“I’m very honored,” Holland said. “It truly is teamwork makes the dream work. That’s what we do for these children in the classroom.”
She thanked local officials for the honor and expressed appreciation for the support of her family and the Cedar Chapel school community.
“We are a family,” she said. “We have to be. We have to be there for each other. Thank you.”
As Teacher of the Year, Holland, who was chosen from 14 nominees, will join the winners from each of Maryland’s other counties to compete for the state title. She was selected as Teacher of the Year by a panel of teachers and professors. They reviewed portfolios and conducted interviews with each of the nominees.
“Once again I am awed at the level of excellence demonstrated by this year’s cohort of Teacher of the Year candidates,” Superintendent Lou Taylor said. “I know I speak on behalf of the entire school system when I say how proud we are to have Karen serve as the 31st Worcester County Teacher of the Year.”
Holland, who attended the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Wilmington University after graduating from Decatur, is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in educational leadership from the University of Phoenix. She is also a member of the Worcester County Education Foundation.
Taylor praised the joy and positive attitude Holland brings to her classroom at Cedar Chapel.
“Her work in helping to build the communication and life skills for students with severe cognitive disabilities is truly making a difference, which is why she will make a fantastic ambassador for Worcester County Public Schools in the state level program,” he said.
Belinda Gulyas, principal of Cedar Chapel, said this week the school community was proud of Holland and her efforts on behalf of her students and their families.
“She makes true connections with her families in order to employ new learning strategies and techniques to better meet the needs of students,” Gulyas said. “She is eager but graceful in her approach to engaging her students as well as the learning community that embraces them.”
Gulyas also praised her commitment.
“Ms. Holland goes to great lengths to meet the educational, social and emotional needs of every child under her care,” she said. “Her determination is evident in her ability to collaborate with various educational staff and her commitment to advocating for her students in order to better meet the needs of each learner in her class.”
While Friday’s banquet culminated with Holland receiving this year’s Teacher of the Year title, it also served to recognize the county’s other nominees and former award winners.
“This evening focuses on exemplary teachers,” Taylor said. “All of you deserve to be recognized because of what you do every day.”
Bill Gordy, president of the school board, offered similar comments.
“Each candidate here tonight represents the absolute best educators Worcester County has to offer,” he said. “All of you are winners in our hearts and minds.”
Keynote speaker Julia Hill, the 2017 Worcester County Teacher of the Year, shared her thoughts on the honor and what it meant to her. She said she’d nearly opted not to apply for the recognition after she’d been nominated at her school last year.
“I loved my students and was doing my best to give them the education they deserved but I felt inadequate,” she said. “It wasn’t enough.”
Colleagues, however, encouraged her to move forward with the application.
“When I argued that I didn’t feel like I had earned it that year they reminded me not to focus on my current perspective but to look at my entire career,” she said.
Nevertheless Hill was shocked to be named Teacher of the Year at last year’s banquet.
“Over the past year since my name was announced I have continued to struggle with what it means to be Teacher of the Year,” Hill said. “It has to be more than just being a great teacher because honestly I’m not that great. It’s not about who has the best classroom management or who creates the best lessons. It’s not about whose students have the best test scores or who is the best at infusing technology into their classroom. In fact, it’s not about the best anything. It’s not about the most anything.”
County Commission President Diana Purnell presents a commendation while Bill Gordy looks on to Holland.
Instead, Hill said it was about passion.
“It’s not about having the most passion but having passion and communicating that passion in a way that that panel of judges could understand,” she said. “It’s about having passion for kids, having passion for learning and having passion for growing. It’s about bringing that passion into your classroom every day even when you don’t feel like it.”
She said that was what made the school system successful.
“That passion is what defines Worcester County Public Schools,” she said. “Everywhere you look within our school system you will find passion for kids and a passion for learning.”
