Bel Air Middle School 6th Grade Teacher Rebecca Gault to be Inducted into The National Teachers Hall of Fame; 1 of Top 5 Teachers in America

From Harford County Public Schools:

Maryland teacher Mrs. Rebecca Gault was surprised at a special assembly held at 10:00 this morning at Bel Air Middle School. She learned that she was selected as one of the top five teachers in America and will be feted during a three-day induction into The National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF) June 12-14 in Emporia, Kansas.

A 22-year veteran of teaching, Gault teaches sixth grade Language Arts at Bel Air. She is the third teacher from Maryland to be inducted into The National Teachers Hall of Fame. She joins last year’s inductee, David Brock, a science teacher at Roland Park Country School in Baltimore, and 2011 inductee Paul Miller, a math teacher at Ner Israel Henry Beren High School in Baltimore, as Maryland’s members of the prestigious Hall of Fame.

This June, Gault will join teachers from Missouri, Texas, and Oklahoma for a series of recognition events in Emporia, Kansas, which include working with high school attendees at a Future Teacher Academy on the Emporia State University campus, a livestreamed roundtable discussion, community events, and a banquet and induction ceremony. The five inductees will also be honored at a reception hosted by the National Education Association on May 3rd at their Washington DC headquarters—just in time to kick off National Teacher Appreciation Week, May 6-10.

Mrs. Gault’s principal at Bel Air Middle School, Sean Abel, writes: “Whether she is serving in the role of School Improvement Team Facilitator, Literacy Specialist, Reading Intervention Teacher, Language Arts Department Chair, or classroom teacher, one thing has remained constant: Mrs. Gault’s content knowledge expertise, pedagogical skill, and relationship building ability is second-to-none.”

Her student, Courtney Levy, expresses her appreciation for Mrs. Gault: “She doesn’t just teach us. She teaches us in a fun way, and that is just about the best thing a teacher could do.”

Rebecca Gault describes herself thusly, “I am the teacher who greets students every day with an energy that conveys ‘Your presence is a gift to me today. ‘I am the teacher who has a banner in her room that reads, ‘Books Teach Us How to Live.’ I am the teacher who sings and dances. I am the teacher who believes that giving students an outstanding education within the context of community is the greatest legacy we can offer our future generations.”

The five educators to be inducted were selected for the Class of 2013 by a national selection committee which met in February. “The selection committee is composed of representatives from national educational organizations, corporate partners, and NTHF membership. The committee evaluates the nominees on responses to questions regarding their professional profile, their teaching both inside and outside the classroom, educational issues and accountability,” said Carol Strickland, Executive Director of the NTHF.

The National Teachers Hall of Fame was founded in Emporia in 1989 to honor teachers and the teaching profession through a recognition program and museum. Nominees must be certified public or non-public schoolteachers, active or retired, with at least 20 years of experience in teaching grades preK-12. Since the inaugural induction ceremonies in 1992, 105 educators from 37 states and the District of Columbia have been inducted. This year’s class of inductees represents the 22nd anniversary of NTHF induction ceremonies.