Thurmont Middle’s Amanda Portner Named County Teacher of the Year
James Rada, Jr.
When Amanda Portner was a young girl, she would pretend to be a teacher, writing on a chalkboard and assigning classwork. Of course, she may be the only teacher to have ever been given a time-out by her mother.
“I kept trying to give my little sister detention, because she wouldn’t do the homework that I assigned her,” Portner said.
Portner, who is a literacy specialist at Thurmont Middle School, was named the Frederick County Public Schools 2015-2016 Teacher of the Year.
“I was absolutely floored when I found out,” Portner said. “They got me good.”
Portner thought that the school was going to have a celebration of the end of state testing in April. She was standing on the stage behind the curtain with others, expecting a pep rally to start, but when the principal came out and started speaking, Portner realized that she wasn’t talking about testing.
Then the curtains opened and Portner saw students applauding, as well as her friends, mother, husband, and sister. The pep rally was actually a gathering to announce Portner was teacher of the year.
Portner has been a teacher for nineteen years, all of them with Frederick County Public Schools. She began her career at Thomas Johnson Middle School as a theater arts teacher and eventually became a language arts teacher.
In 2005, she became a secondary literacy specialist at Walkersville High School. In 2008, she became a teacher specialist for secondary English/language arts in the Central Office. In 2012, she returned to the role of secondary literacy specialist at Thurmont Middle School.
Portner was delighted to teach at Thurmont Middle, because she also lived in the community until March of this year with her husband, Joe, and their dog, Peanut.
“I love the community,” Portner said. “I lived here for thirteen years, and I was excited to come here as a teacher.”
Since 2000, she has served as an FCPS curriculum writer and teacher trainer. She’s co-directed the Maryland Writing Project for Frederick since 2008, and, since 2014, she has also taught English for the FCPS Virtual School.
“I was meant to be a teacher,” Portner said. “Even as a child, I played school once I was old enough to have chalk.”
Portner said that she loves working with middle-school children. “There’s something magical about being in school with children that age and seeing them figure out their identities,” said Portner.
Since the announcement, those students have been giving Portner a lot of high-fives when they see her in the hall, offering her congratulations. Portner was chosen as teacher of the year from among sixty-four nominees.
“Amanda’s enthusiasm is contagious, and she is a master at inspiring others. Teachers flock to her professional development offerings, finding Amanda to be an expert in what she shares and full of ‘no nonsense’ examples and strategies that they can use in the classroom the next day. Teachers also appreciate her wonderfully warm sense of humor and presentation style,” said Principal Jennifer Powell.
The Board of Education of Frederick County honored Portner and the other nominees at the May 13, 2015, meeting.
The Maryland Board of Education honored Portner and all the state’s school district teacher of the year winners at a luncheon on May 19, 2015. The Maryland Teacher of the Year will be announced in October. The winner will represent the state in the National Teacher of the Year competition.
Amanda Portner (pictured), the literacy specialist at Thurmont Middle School, was named the Frederick County Public Schools 2015-2016 Teacher of the Year.
Photo by James Rada, Jr.
Amanda Portner (pictured), the literacy specialist at Thurmont Middle School, was named the Frederick County Public Schools 2015-2016 Teacher of the Year.
Photo by James Rada, Jr.