Social Studies educator Matt Bernstein of Portland, Maine, has been honored as his state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Matt Bernstein
It is always a pleasure to write about exceptional educators who have earned recognition for their work in the classroom. One of these is Matt Bernstein, a high school Social Studies teacher from Maine who has been named his state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.
Matt teaches ninth grade Humanities and Social Studies at Casco Bay High School in the Portland Public School District in Portland. He has worked for the past nine years. Previously he taught World History and US History at the Greene School, an English Language Education school in West Greenwich, Rhode Island.
In his classroom, Matt says he strives to cultivate meaningful relationships with students through careful listening and offering support. He strives to created daily opportunities for students to experience joy and belonging at school. Clearly, he succeeds. “Mr. Bernstein’s students and colleagues at Casco Bay High School have described him as energizing, empowering, inclusive, a mentor, supportive, patient, and loving,” reports Pender Markin, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Education. The honored educator also says recognizing the voices of students and supporting student activism is the major thrust of his curriculum. And he asserts that the purpose of education is to help students find their way to contribute to a more fair and equitable world.
In addition to creating curriculum, Matt serves his school as a team leader, a crew team leader, and a professional learning community coach, where he facilitates ongoing professional learning with his colleagues. He is also a Social Studies Vertical Content Team member, collaborating with local experts and teachers across the district to develop instructional content.
In addition to his State Teacher of the Year honors, Matt has been named the 2022 Cumberland County Teacher of the Year. He was named a 2022 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Scholar, participating in a seminar titled “Teaching the Holocaust through Visual Culture.” And he is continuously innovating. For example, he created We Are an Indigenous Land, a study program where students work to create educational materials for elementary school students about Maine’s Native American tribes and nations.
Matt earned his Bachelor’s degree in History with an emphasis in European History from Bowdoin College, where he was also named a Bowdoin Teacher Scholar.
To read more about Matt Bernstein, click on this link to an article about him published by the Maine Department of Education.
