Spruce Mountain math teacher recognized as county’s Teacher of the Year

JAY – A math teacher at Spruce Mountain High School was recently recognized as Franklin County’s Teacher of the Year after being nominated by the parent of one of her students.

“As a father, I was very concerned about my son’s transition into high school. He is a reluctant learner who needs a caring and patient teacher to guide him. Mrs. Ellingwood connected with my son and realized how to motivate him in the classroom by connecting with his interests,” Matthew Gilbert wrote in his nomination letter.

Connecting with students, according to Jessica Ellingwood-Simpson, plays a crucial role in her philosophy as an educator. Ellingwood-Simpson has taught for 13 years now after graduating from the University of Maine at Farmington with a BA in Elementary Education. She went on to get a masters degree in education with a focus on math from Phoenix University. Ellingwood-Simpson is in her fifth year at SMHS, teaching a variety of advanced math classes from calculus and statistics.

“I had a lot of positive experiences with math throughout my education, and a lot of not so positive experiences. I think it can be a pretty intimidating subject to people, so I wanted to help provide more of the positive experiences to others,” she said.

The Wilton native was a graduate of Mt. Blue High School, and attributes much of her successful philosophy to the teachers she had growing up.

“The great teachers and coaches at Mt. Blue helped show me the way. They taught me that if you care about people, it only brings you more success,” Ellingwood-Simpson said.

Caring can show up in a number of ways, she said. It can be as simple as asking a student how their weekend was, or remembering one of their special interests and engaging them in conversation about it.

“It’s not about the content or strategy in the classroom. It’s about the relationship. If you get to know your students, and they trust you, then they value you and it allows you to push them that much further,” she said.

The County Teacher of the Year program recognizes and honors the contributions of Maine’s public classroom teachers, creates a greater public awareness of the teaching profession, inspires and motivates future and current teachers and promotes teacher leadership. Each year, 16 County Teachers of the Year are selected to represent outstanding educators who are committed to the quality education of Maine students. During their year of service, the cohort engages in ongoing professional development and many local and statewide activities. One of the County Teachers of the Year is selected as the State Teacher of the Year.