Teacher of the Year

An English teacher at Northwest High School is the 2012-2013 Montgomery County Public Schools Teacher of the Year.

Christine E. Ground, a teacher at Northwest High School since 2004, was announced as the 2012-2013 Teacher of the Year at the 10th annual Champions for Children Awards Celebration, which honors MCPS employees and community partners on April 25. The event, sponsored by the Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education, was held at the corporate headquarters of MedImmune in Gaithersburg.

The other finalists were Judith Chinn, an AP environmental science teacher at Clarksburg High School and Heydi Dupre, a Spanish teacher, at John T. Baker Middle School.

“Congratulations to Christine Ground on being named MCPS Teacher of the Year and, most importantly, for the outstanding work she is doing at Northwest High School,” said Board of Education president Shirley Brandman. “She and the other Teacher of the Year finalists represent the high quality of educators we have in MCPS.”

“Christine Ground is a teacher who is innovative, collaborative and takes great joy in being with her students each day,” said Superintendent of Schools Joshua Starr. “Congratulations to Ms. Ground and her colleagues for the tremendous work they are doing for the students of Northwest High School.”

Ground is the leader of the 9th grade English team at Northwest, as well as the sponsor of the creative writing club and the school’s literary magazine. Her colleagues say her excellent teaching of ninth-graders has provided a strong foundation, helping Northwest High more than double the number of students who are taking Advanced Placement (AP) English and Composition. NWS principal, Lance Dempsey, said that Ms. Ground inspires and engages her students by setting clear expectations and individualizing instruction for the needs of each child.

“She fosters self-esteem and encourages her students to be creative, critical and analytical thinkers,” Ms. Dempsey wrote in a nomination letter. “As a result, more and more of the ninth-grade students are achieving at a higher level and have greater confidence in themselves and their academic abilities.”

The MCPS Teacher of the Year finalists received $1,000 from the Marian Greenblatt Education Fund. They will also receive an additional $2,000 from MCBRE and the event sponsors, with $1,000 going to the school. As MCPS Teacher of the Year, Ground also receives the use of a car for one year from Fitzgerald Auto Group

About Staff Writer

View all posts by Staff Writer