AUGUSTA — Educators from each of Maine’s counties were honored May 14 in a Facebook webcast announcing the 2020 Maine County Teachers of the Year.

The group of educators comprises the county finalists for Maine Teacher of the Year, an honor awarded each year to one teacher in Maine.

The recipient of the award for Knox County is Alison Babb-Brott, a second grade teacher at St. George School.

Babb-Brott, an alumna of University of Massachusetts at Amherst and University of Massachusetts at Boston, was nominated by her principal Adam Bullard and parent Heather Weeks. She has taught for six years. 

Heather Webster, an English teacher at Medomak Valley High School, received the recognition for Lincoln County.

Webster has been teaching for 22 years and is an alumna of the University of Maine. She was nominated by her assistant principal Tamra Philbrook. 

In Waldo County, Sara Pendleton, a third grade teacher at Captain Albert Stevens School, received the recognition. 

Pendleton, an alumna of the University of Maine, has been teaching for six years. She was nominated by her principal, Glen Widmer, and parent Rob Bywater. 

The educators were each nominated by a member of their community for their exemplary service in education, and dedication to their students.

They were selected by a distinguished panel of teachers, principals and business community members from a pool of hundreds of other nominated teachers in their communities.

As ambassadors for teachers, students, and quality education in Maine, these teachers will continue to participate in the intensive State Teacher of the Year selection process, including the submission of a video showcasing their classroom instructional practices.

The field will be narrowed to eight semi-finalists who will begin working on their professional portfolio, a component of the Teacher of the Year process.

After the portfolio review and presentations to a select panel, the field is narrowed to three finalists.

Camden Hills Regional High School educator Tom Gray, the 2019 Knox County Teacher of the Year, was named one of three finalists for the 2020 Teacher of the Year award in August 2019. 

Later in the calendar year, the 2021 Maine Teacher of the Year will be selected after a school site visit and final interview. 

The Maine Teacher of the Year is a program of the Maine Department of Education. It is with gratitude from the Maine DOE that the program is administered by Educate Maine, a business-led organization working to ensure Maine’s students and workers are the best educated and highly skilled in the world. 

All 2020 County Teachers of the Year recipients

Androscoggin County: Nicole Sautter of Philip Sugg Middle School

Aroostook County: Jocelyn Saucier of Fort Kent Community High School

Cumberland County: Cindy Soule of Riverton Elementary School

Franklin County: Melisa Hosington of Kingfields Elementary School

Hancock County: Kate Meyer of Mount Desert Island High School

Kennebec County: Lindsay Mahoney of Messalonskee Middle School

Knox County: Alison Babb-Brott of St. George School

Lincoln County: Heather Webster of Medomak Valley High School

Oxford County: Tonya Prentice of Woodstock Elementary School

Penobscot County: Kristy Dube of 14th Street School

Piscataquis County: Jessica Gregory of Piscataquis Community High School

Sagadahoc County: Bree Candland of Mt. Ararat High School

Somerset County: Jen France of Somerset Career and Technical Center 

Waldo County: Sara Pendleton of Captain Albert Stevens School

Washington County: Debbie Carver of Jonesport Elementary School

York County: Rob Westerberg of York High School