[W]inooski High School math teacher Thomas Payeur is Vermont’s Teacher of the Year.
The Agency of Education announced its pick for 2019 on Monday afternoon. Payeur was honored at a ceremony at the University of Vermont’s Davis Center, alongside alternate teacher of the year, Beth Fraser, a mathematics teacher at Blue Mountain Union School in Wells River, and distinguished finalist Shane Heath, a science teacher at Northfield Middle High School.
“Tom is both a leader and an innovator in proficiency-based education at Winooski and one of those teachers who is able to connect with and inspire students on a person to person level,” Vermont education secretary Dan French said in a statement. “Both qualities are perfect examples of the excellence and quality of #VTed educators.”
Payeur has been teaching math for six years, according to the agency, all at Winooski High. His tenure as the state’s teacher of the year begins Jan. 1.
Payeur dedicated his award to the Winooski community for its support of education.
“When communities are given time and space to come to consensus on the skills their future generations will need to master, hope, possibility, and success bloom in tangible results,” Payeur said in a statement. “The work requires relentless persistence, artful communication, flexible problem solving, imaginative creativity, cultural competence and a focus on the well-being of all involved. The students, staff and larger community of Winooski regularly embody these skills, and as such, I dedicate this honor to them.”
The pool of candidates is reviewed by a volunteer committee of prior teachers of the year, which recommends finalists to the Agency of Education.
Every supervisory union or school district that participates in UVM’s Outstanding Teacher Day Celebration can nominate one teacher at the elementary/middle school level, one teacher at the secondary level and one technical center teacher.
The Vermont Teacher of the Year is charged with traveling the state, visiting schools, and being an advocate for the teaching profession. Payeur will also be the state’s candidate for the National Teacher of the Year award, and will travel to Washington, D.C., in the spring.
