Wrong Teacher Announced as Somerset County Teacher of the Year
Somerset County, MD - An awards banquet meant to celebrate Somerset County's best educators ended in confusion, after the wrong teacher was announced as the overall Teacher of the Year award winner.
Myresha Bevins was called to the stage and named the recipient of the award. The issue was that the announcement was made in error. Score records clearly show that Corey Bivens, a teacher at Woodson Elementary School, earned the top distinction as Teacher of the Year.
Neither teacher had any involvement in the mistake and neither is at fault, the blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the Somerset County Board of Education.
The error was identified almost immediately. Despite this fact, no member of the Somerset County Board of Education stepped forward to address it.
Officials allowed Bevins' name to stand, proceeded with an intermission, and then permitted an acceptance speech to take place, even with the trophy itself, notably, bearing the name Corey Bivens.
The following morning, both teachers were called to a meeting at the Board of Education offices. According to sources familiar with the situation, the meeting ended without resolution.
Rather than correcting the record, board officials reportedly offered Bivens the option to "share" the award with Bevins. There was no tie. The scoring was unambiguous but instead of fixing the problem, the attempted to put a band aid on it.
The offer to share the award has raised questions about the board's willingness to take responsibility for its own administrative error. Both teachers are considered blameless in this situation. The concern being raised publicly is that the board has, so far, declined to make a straightforward correction.
Community members and education observers are calling for the Board of Education to formally recognize Corey Bivens as the sole Somerset County Teacher of the Year - the title the scores reflect and the trophy already confirms.
As of this morning, no public statement has been issued by the board.
