Coleen Hermes Named 2013 Newport Teacher of the Year

The Newport Public Schools is pleased to announce that its 2013 Newport District Teacher of the Year is Coleen Hermes.

Hermes currently teaches social studies students at and is the School Department’s Social Studies Chair and has been with the district for thirteen years. She received her Bachelor of Arts in History at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire and her Teaching Certificate at

Hermes has been involved in many activities within the Newport Public Schools, its community, and statewide. In 2010, she was the recipient of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) National History Day Teacher of Merit Award for Rhode Island and selected as the PBS National History Day Teacher of Merit National Finalist, finishing in the top eight eigh nationally. She also received the 2011 Patricia Behring Award—as Rhode Island’s National History Day Teacher of the Year, was the 2011 recipient of the SusanB. Wilson Civic Education Merit Award for the Rogers High School Social Studies Department—in recognition of teaching the George Washington Letter Essay Contest, and Rogers High School Social Studies Department was honored by the Rhode Island League of Women Voters in 2011 for increasing civic responsibility.

Most notably, with the creation of Statewide Proficiency Based Graduation Requirements, Rogers High School began participating in National History Day Activities in 2007—and, in the years to follow, Rogers’ students have won in all categories at the State Fair, with many of them advancing to National Competition.

Rogers’ juniors research, create, analyze, and meet deadlines while learning about history; and, just last year, Rogers’ students were awarded Best State Entry at the Nationals and had their exhibit displayed at the Smithsonian Institute of American History. Rogers’ sophomores are challenged to research colonial history, Rhode Island history, and the history of the first amendment in their essays and, as a result, participated in the George Washington Letter Essay Contest sponsored by Ambassador John Loeb of the Touro Synagogue Visitors Center. 

Hermes is representative of the many outstanding teachers who work in the Newport Public Schools.

Information provided by Newport Public Schools.