Kaitlin Young, an elementary music teacher from Dover-Foxcroft was named Maine's teacher of the year on October 4, 2017. Out of the 64 years of honoring Maine teachers, Kaitlin is the fourth arts teacher to win the award. Kaitlin is also a teacher leader in the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative, an ongoing professional training program founded under the auspices of the Maine Arts Commission since 2010.  Congratulations Kaitlin! 

Kaitlin Young (right) of SeDoMoCha Elementary School, pictured with Director of Arts Education Argy Nestor of the Maine Arts Commission. 

Maine music teacher wins prestigious 'Teacher of the Year' award

DOVER-FOXCROFT – In a surprise all-school assembly today at SeDoMoCha Elementary School, Maine Department of Education Commissioner Robert G. Hasson, Jr. named SeDoMoCha Elementary music teacher Kaitlin Young as Maine’s 2018 Teacher of the Year.
Selected earlier this year as the 2017 Piscataquis County Teacher of the Year, Young began her teaching career in 2010 at SeDoMoCha Elementary School in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine.  For the last seven years she has held a variety of music education positions within the district teaching students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.  Currently she teaches general music to students in pre-kindergarten through fourth grade and choral music to students in fifth through eighth grade. 
“Kaitlin’s integrated teaching style and dedication to bring a love of music and the arts to her students as well as their families, and the community that surrounds her makes her a true leader among her peers and an inspiration to us all,” said Maine Department of Education Commissioner Robert G. Hasson, Jr.
Beyond the RSU #68 school district, Young has worked with the Center Theatre as a music director for several student and adult musical productions.  She also participates in several community music ensembles including a contemporary a cappella group and a steel pan band.
 
Young is a member of several professional organizations including the Maine Education Association, National Association for Music Educators, and the American Choral Directors Association. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from The University of Maine at Orono with a Bachelors of Music in Music Education in 2010.  Young completed her Master’s Degree in Music Education with a concentration in Kodaly Pedagogy at The Hartt School in Hartford, CT in 2017.  
 
As the 2018 Maine Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Young will travel throughout the state and country collaborating with other educators to support the efforts underway to prepare all students for college, work and civic life. She is Maine’s representative in the National Teacher of the Year program which includes a national forum with other state winners, a week at a NASA Space Camp and a visit to the White House.
 
The Maine Teacher of the Year program is administered by Educate Maine, a business-led advocacy organization, in partnership with the Maine Department of Education and the Maine State Board of Education.  Funding for the program is generously provided by Bangor Savings Bank, Dead River, Geiger, and Hannaford. 
 
For more information about the Maine Teacher of the Year program, visit www.mainetoy.org. For more information about Educate Maine, visit www.educatemaine.org.