SHEFFIELD - One teacher has received a heritage award and has been named the teacher of the year by the Vermont Folk Life Center.
One award is given out each year and this year the recipient was Patrick Hamm, who is a math teacher at Millers Run School in Sheffield. The purpose of the award is to recognize one educator or artist throughout the entire state that portrays Vermont's cultural heritage in their work.
Hamm has always admired Sheffield's history and incorporates the community into the classroom. "To me, it's a really great honor because I've always been in love with Vermont, even as a kid I just thought Vermont was the greatest place to be," says Hamm. Involving the community is an aspect that members of the Vermont Folk Life Center looked for in choosing the best candidate. Hamm goes on to say, "I just love what community means here in Sheffield so I think it just recognizes something I've always been in love with."
Hamm has been an educator for 22 years, but has been teaching at Millers Run School for the past 15 years. He teaches math for grades five through eight.
Hamm says, "I think it's a big honor, I looked at the list today to see who else had been recognized and it's a pretty elite group. I'm humbly pleased, it's pretty exciting and something I certainly wasn't pursuing myself, so it's a really big honor."