Outstanding Teachers Recognized at Liberty and South Carroll High Schools

The Carroll County Chamber of Commerce recognized 210 teachers at the 23rd annual Outstanding Teacher Awards program March 23, at Winters Mill High School. One of these teachers will become Carroll County's Teacher of the Year. 

The following teachers, including teachers from South Carroll High School and Liberty High, received Outstanding Teacher Awards: 

• Teresa Adkins – Agriscience Teacher, South Carroll High School
• Drista Bowser – Mathematics Teacher, New Windsor Middle School
• Brian Drake – Instrumental Music Teacher, Westminster High School
• Aaron Geiman – Agriscience Teacher, North Carroll High School
• Diane Safar – Agriscience Teacher, Winters Mill High School
• Richard Thompson – English Teacher, West Middle School
• Victoria Weiland – Mathematics Teacher, Shiloh Middle School
• Rose Young – Physics Teacher, Liberty High School

The awards recognized "the excellence of the men and women who teach in the Carroll County Public School System," according to a press release from the Carroll County Public Schools. Any student, parent, teacher or school administrator could nominate a teacher.

The nomination form included questions requiring specific examples of ways the individual helps students apply what they have learned to real-world situations, as well as how they inspire students to learn and build confidence and self-esteem.   

The Carroll County Teacher of the Year will be chosen from among the eight individuals receiving the Chamber’s Outstanding Teacher Award. 

That candidate will be Carroll County’s representative for the Maryland Teacher of the Year program. 

In addition, the Chamber’s Business and Education Committee awarded three scholarships to teachers to assist in their continuing education. The recipients of the scholarships were Drista Bowser from New Windsor Middle School, Emily Boylan from Parr’s Ridge Elementary School, and Alaina Haerbig from Linton Springs Elementary School. 

Chamber President Mike McMullin presented the Chamber’s first Lifetime Achievement Award to Barry Gelsinger, director of middle schools. Gelsinger, who is retiring this year, was recognized for raising the bar for teaching in Carroll County. He was Carroll County’s first Teacher of the Year in 1987.