Portsmouth teacher named state Teacher of the Year

PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (AP) - A third-grade teacher and coach at a Portsmouth elementary school has been named Rhode Island’s teacher of the year.

Ashley Adamson, who teaches at Hathaway Elementary, was honored Tuesday by the state Department of Education in a surprise outdoor ceremony at which everyone wore masks and kept an appropriate distance from each other. Students and their parents drove by honking their car horns.

Adamson, who has been a teacher for 14 years, is an instructor for the Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System Ramp Up Program, a pilot teacher for a new English language arts program, a robotics coach, and coach of middle school softball, soccer and basketball teams.

She said she was “shocked, honored and so excited” by the award.

“Ashley embodies the best of all our educators - she is focused on her kids’ learning and well-being, she is constantly working to improve her teaching, and she gives generously of her time outside the classroom,” Gov. Gina Raimondo said in a statement.

As teacher of the year, Adamson is eligible to represent Rhode Island for the National Teacher of the Year award.