Melissa Porter Parks, an English language development teacher at Gaithersburg High School, was named the Montgomery County Public Schools 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year on Wednesday night during a ceremony at the district’s headquarters in Rockville.
As the winner, Porter Parks will receive a cash prize and a one-year car lease from Fitzgerald Auto Malls. She will also now be placed in the running for the Maryland Teacher of the Year, according to MCPS officials.
Porter Parks was one of four finalists for the award, including Janie Earle, a kindergarten teacher at Poolesville Elementary School; Carrie Kraynak, an English language development teacher at Flower Hill Elementary School in Gaithersburg; and Morgan Patel, a social studies teacher at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring.
“I’m very shocked and honored,” Porter Parks told attendees of the MCPS Champions for Children awards ceremony. “This is going to be really silly but you know in the movie Mean Girls, they break apart the crown and they pass it to everyone? I really wish I could do that.”
Each year, MCPS ask students, principals, teachers, parents, caregivers and community members to submit their nomination letters for the Teacher of the Year award to the district’s Office of Human Resources and Development. Staff in the department review the letters and applications and narrow their selection to four finalists.
Once the finalists are selected, a team of panelists conducts interviews with the finalists and casts their vote for the winner.
Porter Parks, who has worked for MCPS for more than 10 years, said her students are “going to be so pumped tomorrow” when they hear she was named MCPS teacher of the year.
As an English language development teacher, Porter Parks oversees more than 800 emerging multilingual learners (EML), which are students who speak a language other than English.
During the ceremony, MCPS played a video that highlighted Porter Parks’ work as an educator and shared student testimonies.
“When you come to this country and you don’t understand any of the English language, she gives you the support so you understand it and you deliver,” a Gaithersburg High School student named Jose said in Spanish that was translated to English.
Other students attested to Porter Parks’ ability to connect with students on a personal level and offer them help inside and outside of the classroom.
“It doesn’t matter where you are, you can talk to her about any situation you have and she will help you in any way,” a student named Jason said in the video.
Porter Parks also described how she has helped students whose families have struggled with homelessness and has connected them with nonprofit resources and in one case, even a toddler bed. She said that she does this to “make sure that students have everything they need outside of the classroom so that they can be successful when they are [at school].”
According to MCPS, Porter Parks’ work has made an impact on the graduation rate of EML students at Gaithersburg High since 2018, helping increase the rate from 33.3% to 60% in 2022. In addition, more students are also meeting college and career readiness goals and accessing higher education opportunities because of her support, district officials said. Porter Parks also organizes college financial aid information sessions for undocumented students and families.
The other winner announced at the awards night was Bruno Smith, the building services manager at Mill Creek Towne Elementary School. He was named this year’s Supporting Services Employee of the Year and will receive a cash prize.
Smith has worked for MCPS for seven years and was selected for the honor because of his “super-hero like ability to make a positive impact on students,” an MCPS press release stated. According to MCPS, Smith will check in on students who are having a tough day and take walks, eat lunch or create art with students.
In addition, Smith’s impact on the school community has inspired Mill Creek Town Elementary students to pick up trash on the field during recess. Smith is also well known for designing the school logo of a blue and red dragon, which has become the favorite logo for the school community, according to MCPS.
“This [award] is motivation to continue to do great things in the community,” Smith said at the ceremony Wednesday night.
Smith was one of three finalists for the Supporting Service Employee of the Year award. The other two were Chaula Butterworth, a paraeducator at Farmland Elementary School in Rockville, and Robin McCue, an administrative secretary in the MCPS Department of Athletics.
Several others received awards at the event, including:
- Danielle Gover, a chorus teacher at Westland Middle School, won Rising Star Teacher of the Year. The award goes to teachers who are in their first one to three years of teaching;
- Margarita Bohórquez, the director of International Admissions and Enrollment, who won the Dr. Edward Shirley Award for Excellence in Educational Administration and Supervision;
- Farron Riggs, an educator and baseball coach at Rockville High School, who was named the R.A.I.S.E. Champion of the Year; and
- Montgomery County police Chief Marcus Jones, who won the Community Champion for Children award.
Watch the entire ceremony on the MCPS YouTube channel.