Brittany Jakubowski named 2025 Baltimore County Teacher of the Year 

By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com

Brittany Jakubowski, a secondary English Language Arts (ELA) teacher and department chair at Catonsville Middle School, was recently recognized as 2025-2026 Teacher of the Year for Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS).

“I genuinely enjoy doing my job…it’s nice to know that I’m doing it well,” said Jakubowski in response to the teacher of the year recognition.

A Perry Hall High School and Towson University graduate, Jakubowksi has been teaching in BCPS for 11 years, fulfilling a dream she’s had since childhood.

“When I was growing up, I always knew I wanted to be a teacher…I told my mom that when I was about six years old,” said Jakubowski, 36.

She said upon graduating college she was adamant about teaching high schoolers, but an internship swayed her in another direction.

“They get my jokes, they’re willing to try new things, take risks,” she said about middle schoolers. “I felt like I was going to be the type of person that could push them out of their comfort zone and build their confidence.”

Jakubowski shared how she prioritizes creating a warm and engaging atmosphere in her classroom.

“I’m always in a good mood straight from the get go,” she said. “Coffee kicks in at eight o’clock and we’re ready to roll. There’s lots of smiles, high fives and just asking kids about their day.”

She emphasized the value of truly connecting with students.

“Every day we talk, we write, we listen, we read…those are the four core parts of every one of our lessons,” she said. “We’re not here to do busy work. I try to make every conversation meaningful, so hopefully something will stick.”

“I want to make sure that in those hours that they’re here, they get everything that they need,” she added.

Jakubowski also makes sure to incorporate broader life lessons into her teaching, in order to build confidence and inform students on what it means to care about and be accepting of others.

Brianna Bull, a seventh and eighth grade Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) elective educator, shared her thoughts on Jakubowski’s new designation as teacher of the year. AVID is a nonprofit college readiness program offered at Catonsville Middle School.

“When I found out she was nominated for teacher of the year, I thought to myself no one is more deserving,” said Bull. “As teachers we pour our heart and soul into our craft and our students, and for Brittany, she takes it to another level.”

Nakiera Hopkins, a Spanish teacher at Catonsville Middle School, echoed those sentiments.

“She builds relationships with students that empowers them to want to learn,” said Hopkins. “She is also inspiring as a leader. She welcomes the voices of everyone and really makes Catonsville feel like a community. I can only hope to have as great of an impact on my students and colleagues as she does.”

One of Jakubowski’s proudest contributions is a diversity fair that she started in 2018.

“That fair started with one class of kids who did this culture project, and they wanted to show people,” she said. “Then the next year, the kids heard that the previous year’s kids did it and they wanted to do it too. This year we had over 300 people at our school-wide diversity fair.”

Families brought dishes like jollof rice, matzah bread and biryani, while students showcased their native countries, languages, clothing and dances.

“The Quinceañera dresses were out, the hijabs were out…it was beautiful,” said Jakubowski.

Jakubowski views diversity and representation as a crucial aspect of effective education.

“I did not have a lot of teachers that looked like me when I went to school,” she said. “I think that for many of our students, that’s still the case.”

According to the Maryland State Board of Education, Maryland is gradually diversifying its teacher workforce but still remains predominately White. In the 2020-2021 school year 71 percent of Maryland teachers were White and 18.9 percent of them were Black. In the 2023-2024 school year there were 68.1 percent White teachers and 20.4 percent Black educators in Maryland’s school systems.

Jakubowksi encourages passionate teachers to join her in educating the next generation.

“After navigating the impact of COVID-19 on education—especially in a middle school setting where students are just trying to figure out which way is up—these kids simply need direction,” said Jakubowski. “We need people who are willing to captain the ship.”