School District Names PCS Teacher of the Year, Building Level Teachers of the Year & Support Staff Person of the Year
Plainville Community Schools has named Plainville High School Business & Finance Teacher, Steven Michaud, as the 2025-2026 Teacher of the Year. Michaud was nominated by faculty member and colleague, Brian Verrastro.
The Plainville school district continued a tradition that began in 2022 honoring a school based teacher of the year in each of the five Plainville schools, in addition to ultimately selecting a district teacher of the year. For both the building level and district level teacher of the year recognitions, nominations were submitted from peers and had to reflect how candidates have demonstrated the school district’s core Portrait of the Graduate tenets, including being communicative, collaborative, innovative, mindful and resilient. The school based winners have the option of moving on to the district level process, and those who choose to move on, are interviewed by the Teacher of the Year Selection Committee, composed of the prior year’s school level teachers of the year. This year the group ultimately selected Michaud as the 2025-2026 Plainville Community Schools Teacher of the Year. Building level Teachers of the Year include: Steven Michaud, Plainville High School, Amanda Brown, Middle School of Plainville, Amy Moreau, Louis Toffolon Elementary School, Kelly Annino, Frank T. Wheeler Elementary School, and Jessica Hartung, Linden Street School.
Last year, the Support Staff Person of the Year recognition was established. This year, nominations for this recognition quadrupled, and ultimately Linden Street School SEL Tutor, Wendy Young, was named the 2025 -2026 Support Staff Person of the Year, having received multiple nominations on her behalf. Wendy was surprised with the announcement in her classroom on June 5th, and recognized at the June 9th Plainville Board of Education meeting.
Michaud began as a Plainville High School faculty member in 2000, and served as the Director of Administration and Personnel for a period before returning to the classroom in 2016. In addition, he has served as a Class Advisor, Future Business Leaders of America Advisor, Graduation Supervisor, Instructional Leader for Career and Technology Education, and as a Boys’ Varsity Outdoor Track Coach. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Bryant University and a master’s degree from the University of New Haven. He was honored at the June 9th Plainville Board of Education meeting.
Michaud demonstrates all of the district’s Portrait of the Graduate tenets, with examples cited in his nomination written by colleague Brian Verrastro, including being communicative, collaborative, innovative, mindful and resilient. “Steve not only works with ALL departments to help his students succeed by checking in with colleagues about how students are doing in their classes and what strategies are working for them to empower and enhance students’ learning, he also works closely with the Tunxis partnership in order to prepare our students for careers in accounting and other business paths,” explained Verrastro. “Steve truly cares about his students and is thoughtful and direct in his work with each individual student. He also takes pride in caring for his colleagues and helping us all in a variety of ways.”
As Teacher of the Year in Plainville, Michaud will also participate as a candidate for Connecticut’s 2025 Teacher of the Year Program. Each district Teacher of the Year will be individually recognized later this year by the Connecticut Department of Education.
“First, I would like to sincerely thank Mr. Reas, Mr. Levenduski, and the Teacher of the Year Committee for this incredible honor. I would also like to congratulate the other building-level award winners. Their dedication and hard work do not go unnoticed, and I’m proud to stand among them. Each day that I drive into Plainville Community Schools, especially Plainville High School, I’m reminded of how fortunate I am. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside many outstanding educators, administrators, and support staff. It’s because of them that our schools in Plainville can feel like magical places. I am truly proud to be a small part of this remarkable community. I’m incredibly humbled and honored by this recognition, and I deeply appreciate the kindness and support that has been shown to me recently. But more meaningful than any award is the opportunity I’ve had to positively impact the lives of many students in Plainville…for 25 years and counting! That, to me, is the greatest reward of all,” said Michaud.
“It is an honor to be able to facilitate both the teacher of the year as well as the support staff of the year processes. We have such amazing staff members in Plainville, so to be able to recognize a few of those special individuals each year is an incredible part of my job. What makes the recognition even more special is that the process is driven and decided by their peers and colleagues. Congratulations to all of our 2025-2026 winners!” noted Assistant Superintendent of Schools, David Levenduski.
“We are very fortunate to have this caliber of educator here at PCS,” commented Superintendent of Schools, Brian Reas.