MILLSBORO, Del.- Haley Mears of East Millsboro Elementary School has been selected as the Indian River School District’s Teacher of the Year for 2021-2022, officials said Friday.
The announcement was made at the district’s Teacher of the Year ceremony on April 29. Mrs. Mears was chosen as the district’s overall winner from a pool of 15 candidates, one from each school.
Mears has been a teacher at East Millsboro Elementary School for the past seven years. She was a fifth-grade teacher at the school from 2014-2017 and has been an Intensive Learning Center teacher at EME since 2017. She began her career as a paraprofessional at East Millsboro from 2005-2009. She also served as a social studies teacher at Georgetown Middle School in 2009-2010 and as an English Language Arts teacher at Millsboro Middle School from 2010-2014. She is a member of East Millsboro’s Instructional Leadership Team and a coach for the school’s robotics team. She has also served as a district Odyssey of the Mind coach for the past seven years.
Mears hold a bachelor’s degree in middle level English and social studies education from Wilmington University and a master’s degree in reading and literacy from Walden University. She is a graduate of Indian River High School.
“When you walk into Mrs. Mears' multi-grade ILC classroom, you will immediately notice the high expectations for learning as you watch her students actively participating in a hands-on, supportive learning environment,” East Millsboro Principal Karen Clausen said. “Mrs. Mears encourages inquiry, collaborative groups, student discussions and personal goal-setting in both ELA and math. The student comfort level with these activities is clear evidence that these are routine practices in her classroom.
“Dedication to students, a passion for teaching the ‘whole child' and a commitment to excellence are all characteristics that Mrs. Mears embodies. However, I think the most telling trait is that she truly cares for her students and strives to meet the needs of the individual while setting high expectations for every child.”
Teacher of the Year winners from each district school are as follows:
Teacher School
Amy Absher Lord Baltimore Elementary School
Erin Bullock Southern Delaware School of the Arts
Karen Coty Georgetown Middle School
Bethany Flood North Georgetown Elementary School
Eileen Gartman Howard T. Ennis School
David Grise John M. Clayton Elementary School
Christine Hogsten Phillip C. Showell Elementary School
Sarah Johnston Georgetown Elementary School
Laura Marsh Long Neck Elementary School
Shelley McBride Millsboro Middle School
Matthew McCowan Selbyville Middle School
Ashley Rowe IRSD Early Learning Center
Matthew Selba Indian River High School
Alina Wrench Sussex Central High School
As the district’s Teacher of the Year, Mears is now eligible for the state Teacher of the Year Award, which will be announced in October.
