You Know You Love Teaching When You're on Maternity Leave and Stop to Talk to a Former Student

Heidi Crumrine

Heidi Crumrine, the 2018 New Hampshire Teacher of the Year, is an English and reading teacher at Concord High School in Concord, New Hampshire. She has been teaching for 17 years, including years in the New York City Public Schools. She has a B.S. in family studies from the University of New Hampshire, an M.A.T. in english education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and an M.Ed. in reading instruction from Grand Canyon University.  She is a member of the National Council of Teachers of English, NEA, and NEA-NH. Heidi’s writing is published in the monthly “Today’s Teacher” column in the Concord Monitor, and she has also been published on the Teaching4Tomorrow blog. Heidi’s passion is igniting a love of reading in her students. She believes that reading is the key to success and that putting the right book into the hands of the right kid at the right time can change the trajectory of his or her entire life. She has taught English/Language Arts in grades 7-12 to students of various abilities, interests and backgrounds. She has collaborated on school, district, and statewide curriculum development committees, assisted with grade-level competency creation, mentored pre-service teachers from nearby colleges and coached middle school field hockey. More recently, she has helped target academically at-risk students in their English classes and offered support, skill reinforcement, and facilitated interventions with their classroom teachers. Heidi strongly believes that our public schools are the great equalizer, and she finds great joy in working with young people and seeing them find success on their journey to adulthood. What brings her the most joy is engaging with the students in front of her, who she knows are the best hope for the future.