The top five finalists for the 2015 Harford County Teacher of the Year Award were announced by Harford County Public Schools Monday.
The group includes:
Lisamarie Bermudez, Edgewood Middle School mathematics teacher;
Tonya Chandler, Youth's Benefit Elementary School, second grade teacher;
Laura Potter, C. Milton Wright High School mathematics teacher;
Katie Scharpf, Forest Hill Elementary School third grade teacher;
Sarah Scholl, Havre de Grace Middle School media specialist.
According to the HCPS announcement, this year's Teacher of the Year Judging Committee reviewed and scored all nomination packets to determine a pool of candidates that participated in an interview with a panel of seven judges. The judges then narrowed the pool to the top five finalists, one of whom will be named 2015 Harford County Teacher of the Year.
The Harford school system has more than 3,200 teachers, each of whom can be nominated for the coveted annual honor by students, colleagues, administrators or parents.
"The judging panel had a difficult and unenviable task again this year with many outstanding teachers nominated for the award," HCPS said in a statement. "Just to have been deemed worthy by a student, parent, administrator or community member to be Harford County's Teacher of the Year from among the more than 3,200 teachers in the system is remarkable."
A surprise announcement of the winner will take place at the annual Harford County Teacher of the Year banquet to be held on Wednesday, March 25, at the Bayou Restaurant in Havre de Grace.
Lawrence Jehnert, a third grade teacher at Edgewood Elementary School, is Harford's 2014 Teacher of the Year.