Gorham educator Hannah West has been named the best middle school art teacher in the state for 2025.

“We are incredibly proud to celebrate Hannah West as Maine Middle School Art Teacher of the Year,” Gorham Superintendent Heather Perry said Tuesday in an email to the American Journal. “Hannah’s passion for art education and her dedication to inspiring creativity in her students make her truly deserving of this honor.”

West will receive official recognition from the Maine Education Association on April 5 at the Colby Museum in Waterville. West learned of the honor earlier this month.

Gorham Middle School art teacher Amy Cousins, Maine’s 2019 Art Teacher of the Year, nominated West for the award and will attend the ceremony.

“(Cousins) has been my mentor,” West said in an interview at the school Monday.

West, a Gray resident, has taught at Gorham Middle School for six years. “I love it here,” West said, adding that the staff and community are “great.”

She teaches sixth and half of the eighth grade classes and she said students learn problem solving in art classes.

A lot of middle school teachers find it hard teaching at that level, she said, “But I love it.”

West grew up in Wilton and went to the private Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, where she focused on illustration. She made the culture jump from a rural Maine community to city life. She enjoyed visiting the museums in the Big Apple.

Returning to Maine, West earned her teaching certificate and began teaching preschool at the independent Breakwater School in Portland.

In Gorham, West challenges and encourages her students to try something that is hard. “Expand your comfort zone,” she tells students, “everybody can do it.”

Her classes also work on some projects collectively and students pitch in on cleanup.

West feels right at home in the Gorham school. “I don’t see myself going anywhere else,” she said.

Perry said West’s impact extends beyond the classroom, fostering a love for the arts that enriches our entire school community. “We are grateful for her commitment and thrilled to see her hard work recognized at the state level,” she said.

Gorham Middle School is piling up awards with West, Cousins, and Heather Whitaker was named the Maine Teacher of the Year in 2020.