On Saturday, June 18th, National History Day® (NHD) awarded Mrs. Amy Page at Moriarty High School in Moriarty, New Mexico, the 2022 Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year for the Senior Division. Each of the 58 National History Day affiliates may nominate one high school and one middle school teacher for this award. (Annually about 30,000 teachers participate in National History Day nationwide.)

Both division awards are sponsored by Patricia Behring, a life-long supporter of education, who recognizes teachers that excel at student-centric learning. The award comes with a $10,000 cash prize in addition to the prestige of winning an internationally competitive award. It recognizes social studies educators who demonstrate creative teaching methods that engage students in history and help them make exciting discoveries about the past.

Selected by a committee of experienced teachers and historians, Mrs. Page was recognized for her passion for the NHD program by the New Mexico History Day Affiliate Coordinator Heather McClenahan:

“She displays endless energy year in and year out to help students discover their interests and to translate those into outstanding history projects. She loves perusing the projects at contests and gets as excited about the themes and topics as her students. She celebrates every victory for every student, whether finding an elusive primary source or winning an award at the National Contest.”

“Mrs. Page demonstrates the very best attributes of a history teacher. In addition to her enthusiasm, she is experienced, dedicated, knowledgeable, and innovative,” shares NHD Executive Director Cathy Gorn. “I am very proud to award Amy Page the Patricia Behring Award during this tough year for teachers, especially teachers of history.”