An art teacher with 25 years of experience in Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) is being honored for her dedication to the profession. Donna Lehman, a visual arts teacher at Middletown High School, will receive the 2021 Charles E. Tressler Distinguished Teacher Award. Sponsored by Hood College, the award is presented to an FCPS teacher who has had a significant impact on young people.
Lehman learned she was the recipient today following a visit by the FCPS SurPRIZE patrol led by Superintendent Dr. Terry Alban and Board of Education of Frederick County member Brad Young.
Lehman was nominated by Middletown High Principal Bernard Quesada.
“Donna’s work ethic and her uncompromising moral and high standards are both rare and refreshing,” Quesada said. “My admiration and respect for her both personally and professionally is unequalled.”
Lehman, who has been teaching at Middletown High since 1998, serves as the visual arts department chair and advisor to the photography club. She is the current advisor to the school’s National Honor Society Chapter, which she started in 2003.
Lehman earned a Master of Liberal Arts degree from McDaniel College and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Shepherd University.
The late Samuel Eig of Gaithersburg, MD, established the Tressler Award to recognize Dr. Tressler, a Giles professor emeritus of early childhood education who taught at the college from 1964 to 1990. Dr. Tressler chaired Hood’s Education Department for 18 years and served on the school’s graduate school council for 12 years.