Teacher of the Year finalists include Moretown kindergarten teacher Pam Dow
September 15, 2026 | By Waterbury RoundaboutA Moretown Kindergarten teacher is one of three finalists up for consideration to be Vermont’s 2027 Teacher of the Year, according to the Vermont Agency of Education.
The agency last week announced the three contenders for the annual honor: Moretown teacher Pamela Dow, along with Linda McCuen, who teaches high school English at Proctor Junior Senior High School, and Dawn Walls-Thumma, a middle-grades humanities teacher at Coventry Village School.
Since 1964, the agency has bestowed the honor as a way to recognize outstanding teachers in Vermont. The process begins each spring with nominations where anyone can nominate a teacher. The agency received 20 nominations from students, parents and fellow educators around the state, according to the agency announcement.
Fifteen nominees went on to submit applications that were reviewed by a panel that included eight past Vermont Teachers of the Year. The panel then selected the three finalists. The overall winner, who will serve as Teacher of the Year for 2027, will be announced later this fall.
Pam Dow teaches kindergarten at Moretown Elementary School. Photo courtesy of the Vermont Agency of Education
Pamela Dow, Moretown Elementary
In her application, Dow noted that she’s taught at Moretown for more than 30 years, working with the school’s youngest students from preschool to second grade. Dow described her approach in the classroom: “I believe in intentionally creating a curious learning community,” she wrote, explaining that she values connecting students to the natural world and their community, stressing literacy and fostering resilience.
Dow said she is proud to have helped establish the school’s outdoor education program, Educating Children Outdoors, in 2011. It continues today in collaboration with the North Branch Nature Center and local naturalists. “We use our school forest and surrounding land to engage children in organic, inquiry-based learning, allowing students to blossom in ways that traditional classroom settings simply cannot,” Dow explains. “I am constantly inspired by the resilience and creativity of the students I work with, and I look forward to continuing to support their growth.”
Linda McCuen, Proctor Junior Senior High School
Linda McCuen teaches English at Proctor Junior-Senior High School. Photo courtesy of the Vermont Agency of Education
Linda (Callnan) McCuen has twice been a recipient of UVM Outstanding Teacher honors, in 2009 and 2025, and is a veteran high school English teacher with more than 20 years of experience.
Having also taught at Fair Haven and Proctor high schools, McCuen says she is passionate about teaching in rural Vermont. Her approach combines literature and writing with outdoor adventure and community engagement to highlight the power of storytelling and civic connection.
“All students love stories. As teachers, we simply need to bring the words on the page to life to amplify that innate interest,” McCuen wrote in her application. “There's nothing easy about learning, but that challenge and risk are what make it rewarding and exciting.”
An example of her students connecting with the community beyond classroom is a Service Literature class whose volunteer efforts created Proctor Town Forest's Storywalk and contributed to improving and maintaining trails at Rutland's Pine Hill Park. McCuen said she encourages her students to embrace challenges, from entering poetry competitions or signing up for Advanced Placement English, to just trying something new like cross-country skiing.
Dawn Walls-Thumma is a middle-grades humanities teacher at Coventry Village School. Photo courtesy of the Vermont Agency of Education
Dawn Walls-Thumma, Coventry Village School
For 10 years, Dawn Walls-Thumma has taught middle-grades humanities at Coventry Village School in the North Country Supervisory Union, where she is known for lively, highly engaged classes where students explore history and the world through discussion, deliberation and simulations.
Five years ago, she began a student government that holds monthly town hall sessions, empowering students to solve problems ranging from school policy changes to ADA accessibility of athletic facilities. Students in the group most recently started a school store.