Talya Edlund, a third-grade teacher at Pond Cove Elementary School, is one of three finalists for Maine Teacher of the Year 2016. Edlund was selected as Cumberland County Teacher of the Year in May.

Brenda LaVerdiere, a teacher at Academy Hill School in Wilton, and Mia Morrison, a teacher at Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft, are also in the running for the state title, which will be announced in October. Edlund was “thrilled” to learn she was a finalist on Aug. 21.

“The process is rigorous but truly rewarding,” Edlund said. “It’s given me quite a bit of perspective around teaching practices, and building relationships with colleagues, families and students. I have become more confident in my beliefs about teaching.”

Kelly Hasson, principal at Pond Cove School, said Edlund would be the second teacher in Cape Elizabeth to be honored as Maine Teacher of the Year if chosen this fall. Pond Cove third-grade teacher Irene Armstrong was chosen as Maine Teacher of the Year in 1977. In the past, two Pond Cove teachers were recognized as finalists, including Hasson in 2002, who was a Pond Cove first-grade teacher at the time, and fourth-grade teacher Ingrid Whitaker in 2010.

“Talya is a true risk taker who seeks out innovative opportunities for her students and finds ways to garner the resources and support to make them happen,” Hasson said. “She often is a model for trying new practices and meeting the individual needs of students.”

-Kayla J. Collins

Talya Edlund, a third-grade teacher at Pond Cove Elementary School in Cape Elizabeth and Cumberland County’s Teacher of the Year, left, and state Sen. Rebecca Millett of Cape Elizabeth during a ceremony in Augusta May 7 honoring county teachers of the year. Courtesy photo

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