NH Teacher of The Year

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Lizzie Cheetham, Staff Writer

Every year New Hampshire and all the other states choose a Teacher of the Year. There are about one hundred teachers from around the state who get nominated by fellow teachers, students, and friends. This year around fifty of those completed the application and were officially in the running. For this year’s teacher of the year, Colonel Chris Cheetham, who teaches JROTC at Alvirne High School, the process was long as he was originally nominated in February of 2022, and he only learned he won just a few months ago in October. 

In May, Colonel Cheetham and the many other nominees were invited to the Governor’s mansion. When asked about whether or not he thought he would win at that point in time Colonel Cheetham replied, “No I didn’t think I would get through the first round.” He really just wanted to go to the mansion and have a good time as it may be his only chance to ever go there. Although, this is not the case seeing as Colonel Cheetham has in fact been named Teacher of the Year and will be a part of many exciting activities throughout the upcoming year.

In terms of what’s to come, each state is different in what events they have for their Teacher of the Year. New Hampshire focuses on giving the chosen teacher a platform in which they can advocate for education and other things of importance. Colonel Cheetham is using his platform to advocate for his special viewpoint about the education world. He claims, “We spend too much time on technology and not enough time with real people.” Along with this there are a number of conferences and education events that Colonel Cheetham will be attending. Colonel Cheetham will also be helping to choose the next Teacher of the Year. He will be on the committee for two years so it’s clear that his duties as 2023 Teacher of the Year will go on for a little while. 

In response to everything that has happened in the last year Colonel Cheetham says, “It’s a big honor. There’s a lot of good people in the teaching world.” It is also important to note that unlike many other Teachers of the Year, Colonel Cheetham is a CTE teacher rather than a teacher of core classes. His win can be seen as a win for CTE teachers all around New Hampshire.