2011 National Teacher of the Year

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) announced the four finalists for the 2011 National Teacher of the Year today. The National Teacher of the Year Program, sponsored by the ING Foundation and Target, is a project of CCSSO in partnership with University of Phoenix and People to People Ambassador Programs.

A panel of educators, representing 14 national education organizations, chose the finalists from the 2011 state teachers of the year in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and four U.S. extra-state jurisdictions. The organizations represented on the 2011 National Selection Committee are: American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, Association for Childhood Education International, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Association of Teacher Educators, National Association for the Education of Young Children, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Secondary School Principals,  National Association of State Boards of Education, National Congress of Parents and Teachers, National Education Association, National Middle Schools Association, and National School Public Relations Association.

The 2011 four finalists are:

Cheryl Conley-2011 Florida Teacher of the Year

Conley is a fourth grade teacher at Osceola Magnet Elementary School in Vero Beach, Florida. She has taught a total of 11 years, the last four at Osceola Magnet, a school of 536 students.

Annice M. Brave-2011 Illinois Teacher of the Year

Brave is an eleventh and twelfth grade English and journalism teacher at Alton High School in Alton, Illinois. She has taught for 23 years, the last fifteen at Alton High which has 2,039 students.

Michelle M. Shearer-2011 Maryland Teacher of the Year

Shearer is a tenth through twelfth grade chemistry teacher at Urbana High School in Ijamsville, Maryland. She has taught at this school of 1,655 students for nine of her fourteen years in the education profession.

Paul Andersen-2011 Montana Teacher of the Year

Andersen is a ninth through twelfth grade science teacher at Bozeman High School in Bozeman, Montana. He has been an educator at Bozeman High, a school of 1,850 students, for nine of his sixteen years as a teacher.

And the winner is?



2011 National Teacher of the Year - Michelle Shearer



Michelle Shearer was a pre-med student at Princeton University when, on the verge of burnout, she began volunteering in a class for deaf students. She loved it. That’s when she decided to go into teaching, starting on a path that led her to Frederick County schools and, now, to being named the 2011 National Teacher of the Year.  Michelle is a chemistry teacher at Urbana High School.

Congratulations to all the state winners, four finalists and to Michelle Shearer!!