Forest Knolls Educator Receives MCPS Teacher of the Year Award

A Kindergarten and First Grade teacher from Forest Knolls Elementary School in Silver Spring, has been named the 2017-2018 Montgomery County Public Schools Teacher of the Year.

Kristen Kane, who has taught at the school for more than 11 years, was awarded teacher of the year during the annual Champions for Children Awards Celebration on Wednesday night at BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown.

“It’s so amazing,” Kane said. “The fact that they called me up on that stage, I was shocked, amazed, and humbled.  I’m so happy.”

In a statement, parent Bethany Miller said, “I can never thank Mrs. Kane enough for teaching my children and fostering their growth as lovingly as she did. I know she does this for every child she teaches.”

As MCPS Teacher of the Year, Kane will receive a one-year lease of a new car by Fitzgerald Automall, a laptop computer, and $2,000 in cash from the Marian Greenblatt Fund.

Marian Greenblatt was elected to the Montgomery County Board of Education from 1976 until 1984, and served as its president during in 1978. After Greenblatt’s death in 1988, the fund was created to commemorate her efforts as an educator.

“It’s not about the free bucks we give,” Marshal Greenblatt, founder of the Marian Greenblatt Fund, said. “It’s the fact that they’re getting recognized in the community and being held up as a role model.”

Kane was one of three finalists for Teacher of the Year, along with Janet Gallagher, a resource teacher in the math department at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, and Edwina Kollo, a math teacher at Shady Grove Middle School.

She will now move on to the state level where she will compete for the Maryland Teacher of the Year award.

For more information on this year’s finalists, click here.

Kristen Kane has been named @MCPS teacher of the year for 2018. @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/CAbPjrL5eU

— Mitti Hicks (@MittiMegan) April 19, 2018

Here are the 2018 @MCPS Teacher of the Year finalists. @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/GhNmBiqSgo

— Mitti Hicks (@MittiMegan) April 18, 2018

About Mitti Hicks

Mitti Hicks is a multimedia journalist and community engagement specialist with Montgomery Community Media. She is passionate about telling stories that impact our community and may be reached at MHicks@mymcmedia.org and on Twitter @mittimegan.

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