Heather Whitaker, alternative education teacher at Gorham Middle School, has been named one of three state finalists for the 2020 Maine Teacher of the Year. Earlier this year she was named 2019 Cumberland County Teacher of the Year.

The finalists were chosen from the Maine County Teachers of the Year honored earlier this year at the Hall of Flags. The Maine Teacher of the Year program honors outstanding teachers who represent the thousands of excellent educators in Maine. Maine’s Teacher of the Year serves as an advocate for the teaching profession, education and students, and represents Maine in the National Teacher of the Year program. Each educator was nominated by a member of their community for their exemplary service in education and dedication to their students. They were selected by a distinguished panel of teachers, principals, and business community members from a pool of hundreds of other nominated teachers in their communities.

Whitaker is passionate about combining learning opportunities with the needs of the community. She started her school’s garden, which donates over 800 pounds of produce for the local food pantry each year.

She also is a founding member of the Gorham BackPack Program which provides students in the community who are experiencing chronic hunger with food over the weekend. Her alternative education students are active volunteers for both programs.

Whitaker is an advocate for and experienced in using restorative practices and experiential learning. She believes in the power of relationships and that learning should be meaningful to students. Whenever possible, Whitaker takes students out of the classroom on educational field trips and gets them involved in community volunteering.

She holds a B.A. in elementary education from Boston College and a M.S. in literacy from University of Southern Maine and has been teaching for 18 years.