On the third floor of Havre de Grace High School, in a non-air conditioned classroom on the hottest day of the year so far, students in a ninth grade American government class were eager to learn and excited to participate, despite the heat and the beautiful weather outside.

“I know the answer, pick me,” one student shouted.

“No, no pick me,” shouted another.

Kim Schmidt’s smile and enthusiastic attitude toward learning is what keeps her students motivated, which is just one of the many reasons why she was named the 2009-10 Harford County Public School Teacher of the Year on April 23.

Schmidt, 39, is a dedicated educator with 18 years in the field, 16 spent in the Harford County Public School system.

“It is really an honor,” she said of her selection. “It’s nice to feel like your work is recognized by the community and other educators. That’s a great feeling. I have never been recognized like this before.”

As Teacher of the Year, Schmidt received free use of new Nissan Rogue for a year courtesy of Jones Junction, a Dell laptop computer and printer, a watch from Talles Jewelers and an engraved globe and plaque.

She, along with the nine other finalists, received numerous dinner and bank gift certificates, local merchant cards and $1,200 each from HAR-CO Credit Union.

Schmidt will compete for the title of Maryland Teacher of the Year to represent Maryland’s teachers as an education spokesperson. The state winner will be announced at the Maryland Teacher of the Year Gala in October.

Schmidt teaches six social studies courses at Havre de Grace High School, three each semester.

Held daily for 90 minutes, her classes range from special needs to honors students.

This year, all of Schmidt’s students are ninth graders. Last year she taught some 11th grade classes, as well.

Before every test, Schmidt has the class participate in a game or activity to review for the test, one of her many teaching techniques to keep students engaged.

Schmidt has students participate in an activity called Take a Stand, where she puts an issue on the board and has the students form an opinion about the topic and debate it.

For example, Schmidt said she recently had the students debate whether or not students have the right to privacy in schools.

Schmidt’s students also get the opportunity to be the teacher for a portion of the class. Every day, a different student will lead the warm-up for the class for the first ten minutes.

Schmidt said there will usually be a question on the overhead from the lesson the day before that the student ask the class to answer.

“They just have to implement what I have prepared,” she said.

Having the students lead the class allows for them to learn to not be afraid to speak in front of their peers, Schmidt explained.

“It’s routinized, so it’s not a big risk,” she said.

Although most of her students ask fellow classmates for the answer and record it on the overhead, Schmidt said she is always willing to help the student with either, if necessary.

Ansley Gant, a co-teacher for government in Schmidt’s room for special needs classes, has been working with Schmidt every day for one year.

“She is constantly consistent and puts forth her best every single day,” Gant said. “She works with honors students to the lowest level and treats them all fairly, regardless of their level. She just wants to see them succeed in government.”

When Schmidt was little she wanted to be a teacher, but that dream faded when she switched her interests to physical therapy.

It wasn’t until Schmidt reached college that she discovered she really loved history and wanted to teach it.

“I know I love history and the lessons to be learned,” she said.

Schmidt said she knows that secondary students can get bored with history, so she makes it her task to make her lessons valuable to students.

Although Schmidt teaches social studies, she said the students always come first and she tries her best to reach out to every student.

When Schmidt received her Teacher of the Year award at the banquet, she gave a lesson about the importance of reaching each individual student, as well as the whole class.

“Making a difference in individual’s lives, those are the most rewarding moments,” she said.

Schmidt graduated from the University of Delaware with a bachelor of arts degree in history education in 1991 and began her teaching career as a middle school social studies teacher at Old Court Middle School in Baltimore.

In 1993, she began teaching at Havre de Grace High School and, three years later, she accepted the position of department chairperson at Fallston Middle School where she taught eighth grade U.S. history.

From 1997 to 2005, Schmidt served in a variety of central office positions for the Harford County Public School system before moving back to the classroom at Havre de Grace High School to teach government and U.S. history.

Throughout her career in the county, Schmidt has served on School Based Instructional Decision Making, or SBIDM, teams, School Improvement Teams, or SIT, the Maryland Geographic Alliance and the Maryland State Department of Education reading in the content area task force.

Schmidt said teaching the subject is always important, but “making a difference in a life is more important than the lessons.”

With such an honor bestowed upon her, Schmidt was sure to thank those people throughout her career who shaped her into the educator she is today.

Among those people was the late superintendent Dr. Jacqueline C. Haas.

“She saw a lot of potential in me and mentored me when I worked in the central office,” Schmidt said.

She also said Gerald Scarborough, the former assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the school system, helped by teaching her to be a moral and ethical person.

“He was always teaching me to do in my heart what I needed to do and what was right,” she said.

Schmidt also said Barbara DeRose, teacher specialist for professional development, taught her how to be a reflective educator who looks back on techniques and teaching methods to see which ones worked.

DeRose and Schmidt worked together to design and implement professional development program for teachers in the school system.

Schmidt also said her successful career as an educator would not have been possible without the support of her husband Tim, who is also a teacher and their two children, Lane, 12, and Paige, 9.

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