LIMESTONE, Maine — Michael McCartney, an English teacher at the Maine School of Science and Mathematics, was recently honored as Aroostook County’s Teacher of the Year for 2016 and now has a chance to receive the Maine Teacher of the Year title.
McCartney comes from Harveys Lake, Pennsylvania, and holds a bachelor’s degree from Moravian College and a master’s from Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English. Though he now teaches English on every level, McCartney has been faculty representative to the board, director of college counseling, and an associate director of residential life at the Limestone school.
“Myself and the entire MSSM community are extremely proud of this accolade that is extremely well deserved for Mike McCartney,” said MSSM Director Luke Shorty. “He’s been with us for about a decade now and has really opened up the humanities to students who are usually focused on math and science, and he has mentored and guided hundreds of kids throughout MSSM halls. We are really proud and supportive as he goes on to the next stage of teacher of the year program.”
McCartney attended a private school in Pennsylvania in his youth, and though he speaks fondly of the experience, he was concerned that that level of education was not available to everyone.
“I was drawn to MSSM when I heard it was a school where students could have that type of education as long as they had the capability, regardless of their ability to pay. To me, that’s the great gift of MSSM; the students here choose this community and also earn it, and continue to choose it every year by doing the work and making the decision to come back.”
Classes taught by McCartney include early British literature, utopian literature, The Quest, honors composition, medieval worlds, and “Coming of Age,” a top level English class.
“We look at what we actually mean when we say ‘coming of age,’” said McCartney. “Does it mean graduating high school or turning 18, or could it be a state of mind that someone might not achieve until they’re in their 60s or 70s? I think it’s a great class to have seniors exploring the process of continually coming of age or reassessing what that means.”
The first thing McCartney did upon discovering he had won this title, after giving his wife a hug, was call up his mentor Alice Bolstridge.
“She was the one who nominated me, and is one of the most gifted teachers I’ve ever encountered,” said McCartney, “not just in her ability to analyze literature and think, but in her ability to be empathetic, patient, kind, and generous. Since getting this call, I’ve felt gratitude towards her, fellow colleagues, students, and everyone I work with at MSSM.”
