The Gilder Lehrman Institute announced the 2021 State History Teachers of the Year. The 2021 State History Teacher of the Year for Alaska is Myla Liljemark, history teacher for Seward Middle School in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District.
Liljemark told KSRM:
“I’m thrilled that you want to spotlight the history teachers, especially of the Kenai District. It’s been a rough year for us for last year and this year a little bit for teachers. So to have a feel good story about education is definitely needed and I’m sure appreciated by educators across the district.”
Liljemark talks about the uniqueness of Alaska:
“Alaska’s history is so rich, especially it’s opportunities to really illustrate and emphasize Alaska Native cultures and Alaska Native history as well. I think that, being nominated and then being accepted and awarded this honor puts me in a position to be able to really bring forward some of those really important topics that we have here that not a lot of other people in other states are necessarily considering. In my travels as a history educator, I’ve met with many other history teachers that don’t realize that we have such a strong Alaska Native presence, that don’t realize that we have this amazing Iditarod history, gold rush history, Russian colonization history. For me, it’s been a really interesting and exciting experience to be able to bring those stories to the rest of the educators around the country. I’m excited about where this could go as far as putting Alaska in the right place on the map and bringing the stories of our people to the rest of the country.”
Parents, students, teachers, and administrators nationwide nominated a record 8,510 teachers for the 2021 History Teacher of the Year Award. Amidst a very competitive field, Liljemark rose to the top in Alaska. In fall 2021, the National History Teacher of the Year will be selected from the 2021 pool of fifty-three finalists for the $10,000 National History Teacher of the Year Award. Ten finalists will be announced on September 9, 2021, and the winner of the national competition will be announced later that month.
Inaugurated in 2004, the History Teacher of the Year Award highlights the crucial importance of history education by honoring exceptional American history teachers from elementary school through high school. The award honors one K-12 teacher from each state, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense schools and US Territories.
More information can be found here.