Teachers of the year
Each year, Maryland’s 24 local school systems honor their best teachers through the Teacher of the Year program. For the 2023-2024 year, six alumni from MICUA member institutions were named Teacher of the Year at the county level: Johns Hopkins University graduate: Dr. Laura Moore (Howard County); McDaniel College graduates: Mary Kay Connerton (Anne Arundel County) and Alisha Swann (St. Mary’s County); Notre Dame of Maryland University graduate: Beverly Folkoff (Baltimore County); and Stevenson University graduate: Ali Schilpp (Garrett County). Lauren Stevens (Carroll County) graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Washington College, and a Master’s degree from McDaniel College. On October 13, 2023, at the annual Maryland State Department of Education Teacher of the Year gala, Mary Kay Connerton was named the Maryland Teacher of the Year!
In eleven of the last fifteen years, the statewide Maryland Teacher of the Year winner has earned a degree or certificate from a MICUA school. During that same time, four of the State winners went on to be recognized in the National Teacher of the Year competition: the 2010-2011 winner was a McDaniel College graduate; a 2012-2013 runner-up was a McDaniel College graduate; the 2013-2014 winner was a Goucher College graduate; and a 2016-2017 runner-up graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art.
Of MICUA's 13 members, 10 prepare highly qualified teachers for Maryland primary and secondary education classrooms through State-approved teacher preparation programs. For the academic year 2022-2023, Johns Hopkins University awarded the largest number of graduate Education degrees in Maryland, and five other MICUA schools, Goucher College, Hood College, Loyola University Maryland, McDaniel College, and Notre Dame of Maryland University, were among the top ten producers of graduate Education degrees. For bachelor’s degree levels and above, MICUA institutions awarded 50% of the Education degrees in the State.