Anne Arundel County Teacher Named Finalist for MD Teacher of the Year

From Anne Arundel County Public Schools:

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD - For North County High School German teacher Katrina Griffin, the new school year is picking up right where the last one left off.

Anne Arundel County’s reigning Teacher of the Year learned today that she is one of seven finalists to be the 2016 Maryland Teacher of the Year.

“This is very exciting,” said Griffin, who is in her 16th year of teaching and was named Anne Arundel County Teacher of the Year in April. “There are so many good candidates, and I’m really honored.”

The Maryland State Department of Education announced the finalists this morning. Superintendent George Arlotto was joined by Board of Education Vice President Julie Hummer and Board Member Maria Delores Sasso in surprising Griffin with flowers at the school this morning.

In addition to Griffin, the finalists are: Athanasia Kyriakakos of Baltimore City; Donna Miller of Calvert County; Anne Highfield of Cecil County; Michael Williams of Montgomery County; Tamara Forte of Queen Anne’s County; and Christy Briggs of Wicomico County.

The honor is the latest in a string of accolades for Griffin. She was named the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages’ Teacher of the Year in February, four months after claiming the state award. She is one of five teachers from across the country who will compete for that national award in November.
Before that, however, will come the announcement of whether she is Maryland’s Teacher of the Year. State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Karen Salmon will make that announcement at the Teacher of the Year banquet on October 7.

“I am thrilled to represent our county,” Griffin said. “I think we are leading the state in what we do, how we approach teaching and learning, and how we’re teaching more than just content. We’re teaching the whole student and we’re not just focusing on the future, we’re focusing on right now and what’s going to help each student while we have them.”

Photo courtesy of Anne Arundel County Public Schools.