On April 22, 2010, Lisa C. Mullen was named the 2010-2011 HCPS Teacher of the Year at the Teacher of the Year Banquet held at the Bayou Restaurant in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Robert Tomback made the announcement at the banquet among guests that featured Senate and delegate members, fellow teachers, students, and family.

     Ms. Mullen has been teaching for a total of over 22 years, 18 of which she has been teaching in Harford County. Mullen’s parents, a professor and a poet, were a big influence on her decision to enter a career in education. Mullen is a highly qualified teacher, having earned her Master’s Degree from the College of Notre Dame in Leadership in Teaching. Along with her Master’s, she has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from the University of Pittsburgh, as well as an additional 30 credits she earned after she received her Master’s Degree.

     Mullen has done more than just taught language arts at North Harford Middle over the 18 years she’s been posted there: she has been a student-teacher mentor, written curriculum for English classes, and served in a host of positions such as Team Leader, and Team Recorder.

     Both Mullen’s current and past students agree she was the correct choice for the award. North Harford Middle School 8th grade student Morgan Wirtz said, “Ms. Mullen helps all of her students understand what she is teaching. She has new and creative teaching styles that show how fun learning can be.” Senior Skylar Myers, a past student of Ms. Mullen’s, said “She was really cool and had stories that would relate to what we were learning.”

     Mullen’s efforts and achievement of being the 2010-2011 Teacher of the Year do not go unrewarded. She receives free use of a car, courtesy of Jones Junction, a Dell laptop computer, a watch from Saxon’s Diamond Centers, and an engraved globe and plaque, plus the rewards she received for being a nominated finalist for the Teacher of the Year Award.

     The achievement of the Teacher of the Year Award makes Mullen eligible for the Maryland Teacher of the Year title, which will be selected in October.