Kim Barnes, Teacher of Excellence Award winner
with MCELA Executive Board Member
Claudette Brassil
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2025 Co-Awardee: Kim Barnes, Caribou Community School
Kim Barnes is known for her ability to cultivate reading and writing engagement among her students. She is recognized for her thoughtful curriculum, which encourages critical thinking, creativity, and authentic learning experiences. Barnes has been recognized for her teaching excellence in the past: 1998 Distinguished Educator Award for Discipline, 2003 Master's Degree in Educational Leadership, 2009 Plugged-in To Reading Teacher of the Month, 2017 Aroostook Right to Read Literacy Award Recipient, 2019 Aroostook County Teacher of the Year. Heather Anderson, a teaching colleague at Caribou Community School, wrote the following in her letter of recommendation for the award: “Watching Kim in action–whether with students or colleagues–is inspiring to behold. It often begins with a text to our 8th grade team of ‘I have an idea!’ These texts spark projects that transform our students and our school. Kim’s mind is like a fireball of innovation. She consistently sets goals and sees them through with her determination and focus.” Barnes’ ideas spread beyond her classroom to the whole school and throughout the community and county. She explains one idea that turned into a collaboration with the Caribou Historical Society: The inquiry-based project began with an examination of artifacts on loan from the museum. Many of these school artifacts included photographs, uniforms, fashionable clothing, report cards, teacher notes, graduation certificates, yearbooks, and even old PA speakers. As students combed through the items, curiosity was piqued. My favorite part of the research was when students began searching for their parents and grandparents in the vast number of yearbooks. The buzz of the classroom was palpable. Giggles meant engagement and the high-interest activity connected families to school. Since the inquiry was grounded in lessons about writing effective research questions, students generated interview questions about the history of education in Aroostook County. To learn what school was like thirty to fifty years ago and have their questions answered, I assembled a panel of retired educators to visit our school. Acting as moderator, I asked students questions while students noted the responses of the teachers. Our local newspaper covered the story which spread positivity and fostered a sense of community in our region. Since students had experience listening to podcasts, I thought podcasting would be the perfect way to digitize the exhibit. But I needed help. What tool would be best? Since the inception of MLTI (Maine Learning Technology Initiative), I have collaborated with their tech integrators, inviting them into my classroom to integrate the latest technology tools into classroom instruction. So, I reached out to Jonathan, and he and his team traveled north to “The County” to teach students how to record, upload, edit, and then publish their very own podcasts. Once students had instruction about how to make podcasts, they worked collaboratively and synthesized their learning to create their podcasts. QR codes were linked to the individual podcasts and ultimately placed next to the exhibit items. Now, when patrons visit the Caribou Historical Society, they can listen to the history behind the artifact. Barnes's ideas are often invested in creating meaningful learning experiences for her students which is key to celebrating her as an MCELA Teacher of Excellence for 2025. |
Michelle Aronson, Teacher of Excellence Award winner with MCELA Executive Board Member Claudette Brassil
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2025 Co-Awardee: Michelle Aronson, Mt. Ararat Middle School
Aronson is recognized for her commitment to fostering student voice, promoting inquiry-based learning, and mentoring fellow educators in best literacy practices. Jonathan Beede, a Social Studies Teacher at Mt. Ararat describes Aronson: “On a daily basis, Michele delights in the quirky mirth that only a group of adolescents can create. Whether Michele is leading an outdoor adventure to share her love of nature and physical activity, marshaling the sales team at our annual cookie bake-off, playing pied-piper through our community on walking writing marathon field trips, rallying kids for fitness challenges during indoor motor breaks, inviting her grandson, Wyatt, to be a guest reader to her ELA classes, filling the hall with her cacophonous laugh, or anything else she can jump into to enliven her beloved Team Androscoggin, Ms. Aronson makes the experience of everyone lucky enough to be near her, bigger, brighter, better." Aronson details her “pied-piper…walking writing marathon field trip”: During the spring, when the Maine weather warms, the students and I participate in the "Discover Your Town" writing marathon, exploring our local downtown area as writers and observers. The goal is to connect writing with curiosity about the world around them and to help them see their community through new, literary lenses. Throughout the day we have pre-planned stops designed to make connections and offer the opportunity for students to observe, interview, sketch, and write. In the many years that I have offered this experience we have lingered at stops such as the Bowdoin College Campus, where I ask students to interview any college student they come across in their wanderings. Questions such as “How did you decide on Bowdoin?” “What are you studying?” “What activities or experiences do you participate in outside of your academic courses?” typically are met with enthusiastic responses from the Bowdoin College students. We then spend time sitting in front of the Little Dog Cafe on Maine St. (the only main street spelled like the State), where students are asked to just observe and sketch what they see, a young mom hustling by, or an older gentleman enjoying a cafe latte. Next, we walk to the Farmers Market held on the Town Mall where students are asked to focus on the economic aspect of the market as they interview sellers and buyers and observe the comings and goings of shoppers and browsers… Back in the classroom, students are directed to choose one piece from their marathon to revise and polish. Many transform their raw notes into thoughtful essays, poems, or vignettes. I know the marathon had worked when students shared their reflections: “I never realized how much is going on in places I see every day. Writing helped me notice more.” Another shared, “I didn’t think I could write about random things like the smell of a café, but it ended up being my favorite part.” Additionally, their final pieces showcase authentic voices and an eagerness to capture the world with words. The Discover Your Town Writing Marathon works because it blends inquiry, creativity, and community. Students were not confined to a desk—they were out in the world, observing, questioning, and making connections. This sense of freedom and curiosity ignited their love of learning and showed them the power of their own words. Aronson also fosters a love of learning in her students which is key to celebrating her as an MCELA Teacher of Excellence for 2025. |