By: Erik Pedersen, Senior Communications Manager
BALTIMORE – A Notre Dame of Maryland University PhD student was recently selected as the Maryland History Day Middle School Teacher of the Year in recognition of his work supporting students throughout a year-long research competition.
Devin Page M’02, who previously earned a master’s degree from Notre Dame in elementary education and teaching, is now enrolled in NDMU’s Instructional Leadership for Changing Populations doctorate program. Page has spent the past 19 years teaching social studies at Northern Middle School in Calvert County; he will transition this fall into a new role as a technology integration specialist for Calvert County Public Schools.
“I was flattered just to win the Calvert County Teacher of the Year award,” Page said. “To then go on and receive the state honor was completely unexpected, because there are so many phenomenal history teachers in Maryland. It was really humbling.”
Maryland History Day is a contest organized by Maryland Humanities in which thousands of students across the state create original documentaries, exhibits, performances, research papers or websites exploring a breadth of historical topics within an annual theme. The students progress through competitions at the school, district, state and national levels.
“One of the strengths of the National History Day program is its emphasis on quality writing, authentic and in-depth research, and finding a unique and fresh angle on any given history topic,” Page said. “It’s almost like a miniature dissertation for middle schoolers.”
With the state award, Page became eligible for National History Day Teacher of the Year consideration, and he was recognized as a top six finalist for that honor in June.
Nearly 20 years after receiving his master’s, Page returned to Notre Dame last summer to begin his doctorate classes. Several of his colleagues at Calvert County Public Schools, including current assistant superintendent Dr. Susan Johnson D’12 and former Calvert County and Montgomery County superintendent Dr. Jack Smith D’09, helped motivate Page to continue his education after speaking of their own positive experiences with the Instructional Leadership program.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for the people who received their degrees from Notre Dame,” he said. “I also really valued my own previous experience getting my master’s. I wanted a program with some name recognition that commanded respect, and Notre Dame does that.
“The Masters and Ph.D. programs require that students produce high quality writing, first of a masters' level and then doctoral level caliber,” he continued. “And NDMU provides us the instructional and coaching support to meet their academic standards.”
Page is the latest of several NDMU School of Education students who have been highlighted for their professional accomplishments in the last year. Alicia Amaral Freeman M’08 was named the 2022-23 Baltimore County Teacher of the Year, Kimberly Culbertson D’22 (2022 Assistant Principal of the Year) and Deana Giannelli M’05 (2021 Middle School Assistant Principal of the Year) were both recognized by the Maryland Association of Secondary School Principals, and Scott Hartman M’21 won a $30,000 award from the CIA to promote STEAM education at his Baltimore City school.
Established in 1895, Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) is a private, Catholic institution in Baltimore, Maryland, with the mission to educate leaders to transform the world. Notre Dame has been named one of the best "Regional Universities North" by U.S. News & World Report.
