The example of teachers and administrators such as these show us the path to the future.

As I reflect on this holiday season, I want to give a special thank-you to all Maine teachers whose persistence and gifts continue to inspire our children.

Each year at this time I am reminded of the importance of your gifts by the Maine Coalition for Excellence in Education's Celebration of Leadership luncheon. MCEE (of which I am a member) is a group of business, education, and nonprofit leaders dedicated to improving K-12 education in Maine.

MCEE provides a special luncheon in December each year to recognize the accomplishments of teachers and other educational leaders across the state. Usually 40 to 50 educators are recognized in several categories of achievement.

The include special awards for Maine's Teacher of the Year and Teacher of the Year finalists, the state's Milken Family Foundation Award winner (who receives a $25,000 award – not quite like winning "Survivor" but mighty significant), and leadership awards in each of the administrator categories such as Maine's Principal and Superintendent of the Year.

Susan Gendron, Maine's commissioner of education, was there to present the awards along with Peter Geiger, the chairman of MCEE.

When I hear the citations for these honorees, I know that whatever budget or consolidation woes the state may have, there is still wonderful work being done in classrooms and schools.

I had a special treat this year as one of my daughter Emily's best friends, Rebecca Stern, was recognized for achieving National Board Certification.

I sat with Becca and her husband, Mark, absorbing a bit of the reflective glow. National Board Certification is a big deal. It is a relatively new process, developed in the past five years, and includes a rigorous course of study over two years.

Those teachers who achieve this certification are viewed by colleagues and administrators as the best of the best.

Bob Hasson, the vice chair of MCEE and superintendent of the Cumberland-North Yarmouth District, indicated that studies in his district have shown that students of teachers with National Board Certification tend to demonstrably higher achievement.

Each year more Maine teachers gain National Board certification. This year Becca was part of a group of 16 teachers being so honored.

Maine's Teacher of the Year, Gloria Noyes of Congin Elementary School in Westbrook, got particularly special recognition, as did Michelle Gagne of the Sherwood Heights School in Auburn. Michelle was the Milken Foundation winner as well as a finalist for Teacher of the Year.

MCEE also gives a particular education leadership award each year, the Golden Apple Award. This award went to Hank Schmelzer, the CEO of the Maine Community Foundation.

Under Hank's leadership MCF has taken a strong role in improving education in Maine. MCF was a founding member of the Compact for Higher Education, a group dedicated to increasing the number of Maine students who go on for at least two to four years of higher education.

Each year I leave this event feeling better about the state of Maine education. As we look to 2009, the looming state budget deficit and a weak national economy are causes for real concern.

No doubt during much of 2009 we will be dealing with cutbacks and curtailments that will affect our schools and the university system.

While it won't be easy, we will navigate through these difficulties. It is comforting to me to know that we have the kind of educators that were recognized at the MCEE's Leadership Luncheon willing do their part, regardless of the difficulties.

We do not do enough to recognize the value of our teachers and educational leaders. The MCEE luncheon is something that I would love to be able to multiply a thousand-fold.

I met two teachers at the luncheon who had just returned to Maine after teaching three years in Singapore.

They said that in Singapore teachers are revered as the elite of the society. Their contributions are recognized in countless ways, not the least of which is that the best of them are paid two to three times the income they would be paid in the United States.

As we think longer-term about Maine's and the nation's education systems, let's find a way to emulate Singapore in its recognition of a precious resource.