For the third year in a row, a teacher from the Towson University community has been named Maryland Teacher of the Year.
Sean McComb, an English teacher at Patapsco High School & Center for the Arts in Dundalk and an adjunct instructor at Towson University’s College of Education, is this year’s recipient of the coveted award. A teacher for seven years, he has also coached tennis and track at Patapsco and was captain of a men’s elite Ultimate Frisbee club.
McComb receives his award from Gov. O’Malley.
Photo courtesy of Baltimore County Public Schools.
And he keeps good company: Rhonda Holmes-Blankenship, a Towson graduate and English teacher at Rising Sun High School, was named the 2012-2013 Maryland Teacher of the Year. Prior to that, alumnus Joshua Parker, an English teacher at Windsor Mill Middle School, was the 2011-2012 recipient.
One of seven finalists from across the state, McComb was given the award by Gov. Martin O’Malley and Lillian Lowery, the state superintendent of schools, at an Oct. 11 gala of hundreds to celebrate the teaching profession.
Upon receiving the surprise honor, McComb thanked his family and colleagues and praised the AVID Program he coordinates at Patapsco. “It’s the little program that could,” he told the audience, describing the Advancement Via Individual Determination program that offers education and support to promising yet underserved students.
“We are excited that the Maryland State Department of Education recognized what we in Baltimore County Public Schools already know about Sean McComb—he is a passionate and effective teacher who engages his students with facilitative and collaborative lessons that are relevant to their lives and how they learn,” said Baltimore County Superintendent S. Dallas Dance.
McComb will spend the next year traveling across the country as a representative of Maryland’s public school teachers. He will also receive a cash award, a week at National Space Camp, a 2014 Kia Forte from the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association, a Smart Board and materials from SMART Technologies, professional development opportunities, and other gifts and prizes.
Like those before him, McComb will be honored by President Barack Obama at the White House next spring, and will also compete for National Teacher of the Year.
