Meade High School Teacher Identified by State Dept. of Education as One of Eight Teacher of the Year Finalists

The Maryland State Department of Education has identified a Meade High School teacher as one of eight finalists for 2021-2022 Maryland Teacher of the Year.

Jing Dai, a chinese teacher at Meade, was among the names released today.  According to the announcement, Dai, the only teacher from Anne Arundel County on the list, holds a Master of Education from LaSalle University and Master of Arts from Towson University.  Her Bachelor of Science is from Sichuan University in China. She is the current president of the Chinese Language Teachers Association-National Capital Region and a frequent presenter at national and regional conferences. In honor of Jing’s work with the Chinese Embassy promoting cultural proficiency for equity and inclusion, she was honored with the Distinguished Teacher Award from the Chinese School Association in the United States and the Outstanding Performance and Achievements in Teaching Confucius Classroom. 

"Maryland’s teachers are critical in the lives of Maryland children, demonstrating unwavering commitment to engaging, inspiring and encouraging our students,” said Governor Larry Hogan.   

From a group of 24 local systems’ teachers of the year, the finalists were selected by a panel of judges representing key Maryland education organizations, and include principals, teachers, school boards, teacher unions, and representatives from higher education. All finalists were chosen based on a rigorous set of state and national criteria that include instructional abilities, collaboration with colleagues, students, and families, community connections, leadership and innovation in and out of the classroom, and ability to articulate education issues and beliefs.

The 2021-2022 Maryland Teacher of the Year will be announced on Maryland Public Television on October 7, 2021 in a 30-minute Maryland Teacher of the Year Television Special airing at 8 p.m. on MPT2 as well as being streamed on YouTube at video.mpt.tv. The program will highlight all 24 local school systems’ teachers of the Year and end with the announcement naming the new 2021-2022 Maryland Teacher of the Year.

Presenting sponsors for the Maryland Teacher of the Year Program are Comcast, the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association, McDonald’s® Family of Baltimore, Northrop Grumman Corporation, and SMART Technologies. Platinum sponsors are Maryland Public Television, NTA Life/Horace Mann, and Whiting-Turner Contracting Company.

The selected Maryland Teacher of the Year will go on to compete for the esteemed National Teacher of the Year Award. Maryland’s Teacher of the Year will also spend the coming year as an educational speaker and advisor in Maryland. At this time, both virtual and in-person venues are being planned throughout the State and nation.

The remaining names were:

Sidney Thomas of Baltimore City;

Brianna Ross of Baltimore County,

Adrin Leak of Prince George’s County;

Stephanie MacKenzie of Queen Anne’s County;

Lauren Greer of Talbot County;

Caroline Schlegel of Washington County; and

Dustin Thomas of Wicomico County.