WESTBROOK – For Kathryn Hersom, teaching has always been a passion. Even after she became a school administrator, she continues to teach, making sure that not just her students keep learning, but her staff does, too.

That interest in professional development as part of an all-around learning environment is a big part of why Hersom, principal of Saccarappa Elementary School in Westbrook, was named Elementary Principal of the Year by the Maine Principals’ Association.

At a special assembly at the school Monday morning, students and staff watched as the association and various school department leaders from the district congratulated Hersom on the honor.

School Superintendent Marc Gousse nominated Hersom in an application to the association. When asked why, Gousse said Hersom’s “passion” for teaching and learning was the obvious reason, and cited numerous new opportunities Hersom has found for professional development for her teachers and staff.

“She’s a principal, (but) she’s still a teacher,” Gousse said.

The association appointed a four-person committee to review nominations, according to Carol Hathorne, principal of Hope Elementary School near Camden, who sat on the committee and herself was the recipient of the 2011 principal of the year award in Maine.

The number of initial nominations was not available, but Hathorne said the association’s committee started with “more than 10,” and pared the list down to two finalists, including Hersom.

Hathorne said the committee took a tour of the school, interviewed Hersom, and also spoke to teachers, parents, and even one of the students, as part of the final selection process.

“Kate is a true educator, not only of students, but of all the people she works with,” Hathorne said. “And that doesn’t happen in every school.”

Hersom, a Westbrook native, went to Forest Street School and graduated from Westbrook High School. She received a bachelor’s degree in education, with a minor in English, from the University of Maine. She received a master’s in educational leadership at Cambridge College in Cambridge, Mass.

Hersom said she has, for personal and professional reasons, worked in both Maine and Massachusetts throughout her 20-year career. She started teaching sixth, seventh, and eighth grade at a public school in Boston in 1992, then transferred to the J. D. O’Brien High School in Roxbury.

She became an administrator in 2000, coming back to Maine to be assistant principal at Portland High School. From there, she worked as an administrator at Lexington High School in Lexington, Mass., and later at Marshwood High School, and finally as assistant principal at Westbrook High School for a year before coming to Saccarappa seven years ago.

Hersom said she has always had a passion for learning and teaching, and works to make sure her staff have that same interest. If the adults still want to learn new things, she said, the kids will notice and respond.

“I think we have to model our expectations to the kids,” she said.

At Monday’s assembly, she praised the faculty and staff at Saccarappa, calling them “an all-star team.”

She also thanked the kids, who cheered her on. When she told the crowd, “Being an elementary school principal is a tough job,” one of the kids shouted, “We know that!”

Marwaan Shute, 6, a first-grader at the school, was happy to see Hersom honored.

“She loves kids so much,” he said.

Fellow first-grader Myia Barden, 7, said Hersom is more than just a principal.

“She takes care of the school,” she said.

Their teacher, Valerie Dominski, has taught first grade at Saccarappa for 10 years.

“I think it’s great for our school, and the children,” she said of Hersom’s award.

Dominski said she remembered Hersom’s arrival, and said she immediately noticed her principal’s interest in professional development for teachers like her. Overall, Dominski said, Hersom has encouraged everyone to work as a team.

“She’s really gotten us together as a staff,” she said.

School Committee Chairman Ed Symbol, who also attended the assembly, said Hersom is just one of many educators and leaders in the district who have received similar honors over the years.

“We’re pretty lucky in this district,” he said.