Published November 26, 2018 by Anna Martens ’20

Inspiring Teachers and Students: Mallory Haar Receives Education for the Common Good Award

This October was the second time Bowdoin presented the Education for the Common Good Award to a Maine educator who thoughtfully integrates common good into their work. This year, Mallory Haar from Casco Bay High School was selected to receive this recognition.

“Mallory is the most reflective teacher I have ever met,” one reference wrote about Haar for Bowdoin’s Education for the Common Good Award. An English Language Learner teacher at Casco Bay High School, Haar is lauded for her abilities to see each student individually and to encourage a strong desire to learn.

“Her love of her students inspires all other teachers who work with them to delight in their strengths and unique gifts,” the nomination letter continues. Haar makes a difference even outside of her own classroom, making her a perfect candidate for Bowdoin’s recognition.

She fights inequity in theory and in practice in her classroom, and has many students with refugee backgrounds.

October 2018 marked the second year Bowdoin presented the annual Education for the Common Good Award to a local teacher. The award recognizes one Maine educator who thoughtfully integrates common good into their work and who models the three tenets of the education department: be aware of the big picture; embrace theory and practice; live in and model a spirit of inquiry.

Professor of Education Doris Santoro says one purpose of the award is to show that “great teaching, at any level, is prized, valued and admired at Bowdoin College.”

Education major Sophie Friedman ’20 attended the celebration of the award on October 18 in a room of Bowdoin professors, local educators, students, and nationally renowned education theorist Gloria Ladson-Billings. “With three generations of educators—aspiring, experienced, and retired—his award does work towards the professionalization of teaching,” Friedman said.

Casco Bay Principal Derek Pierce said one of Haar’s strengths is “inspiring [students] to ever greater feats of academic achievement and character.”

She also received two other awards this year: the 2018 Lawrence W. O’Toole Teacher Leadership Award from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms grant. Bowdoin is proud and honored to recognize such a remarkable teacher in this community.