A teacher at Casco Bay High School in Portland has been named Maine Teacher of the Year.

Matthew Bernstein Photo courtesy of Maine Department of Education

The award was presented Tuesday to Matthew Bernstein, who teaches ninth-grade humanities and social studies at Casco Bay High School. He was selected from a pool of hundreds of teachers nominated this year and will represent the state in the National Teacher of the Year program.

“Today we celebrate Mr. Bernstein’s love of teaching, his dedication to his students, and his leadership role in education,” Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin said. “Mr. Bernstein’s students and colleagues at Casco Bay High School have described him as energizing, empowering, inclusive, a mentor, supportive, patient and loving.”

He has a bachelor’s degree in history, with a concentration on European history, from Bowdoin College and is 2022’s Cumberland County Teacher of the Year. He is a member of the Portland Public Schools Social Studies Vertical Content Team, which is working to develop a Wabanaki Studies curriculum, and was recently named a 2022 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Scholar, taking part in a seminar called “Teaching the Holocaust through Visual Culture.” Outside the classroom, he plays or coaches soccer and basketball.

The candidates for teacher of the year were nominated by a member of their community and the winners are selected by a panel of teachers, principals and members of the business community.