![Friends School welcomes Baltimore County Teacher of the Year Alicia Freeman '96, P'34 as keynote commencement speaker]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1685030260/friendsbaltorg/lb0trbheyusojeq4vh2y/BaltimoreCounty_AliciaAmaralFreeman.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1685030260/friendsbaltorg/lb0trbheyusojeq4vh2y/BaltimoreCounty_AliciaAmaralFreeman.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1685030260/friendsbaltorg/lb0trbheyusojeq4vh2y/BaltimoreCounty_AliciaAmaralFreeman.jpg","width":717}])
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Friends School is honored to welcome alumna Alicia Freeman ’96, Baltimore County Teacher of the Year, as the keynote commencement speaker on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. Recipient of the Baltimore County Teacher of the Year Award in 2022-23, Alicia is primarily an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher at Franklin Elementary School in Reisterstown. In addition to working with young learners, Alicia is a resource for their parents, running workshops to introduce them to the U.S. school system and helping them access resources, including adult ESOL classes. Alicia realized her life’s passion for teaching English to children when as a child she experienced her Portuguese grandmother struggling to help her with her schoolwork. “I am proud to work with immigrant students and families,” Freeman said. “In them, I see my grandmother, ashamed of her lack of access to education, and my grandfather, a janitor in a public school. I am proud to be their granddaughter, helping to cultivate this next diverse generation of new Americans.” After graduating from Friends, Alicia received her undergraduate degree from Barnard University in New York and her master’s degree from Notre Dame of Maryland University School of Education. Before joining the Baltimore County Public School system, she taught ESOL in the Baltimore City Public School system and served as Director of Admissions and Development and later Principal at Archbishop Border School, a Catholic dual language school run by the Archdiocese of Baltimore. As part of her award, she will collaborate on education initiatives with 23 other award-winning teachers from each of Maryland’s school systems over the next year. In addition to being an alumna, Alicia is also the parent of Friends Lower School student Francisco Melo ’34 and sister of alumnus Jake Freeman ’93. We look forward to hearing Alicia's keynote address and welcoming all families, friends, and guests of the Class of 2023 to celebrate Commencement on June 13 at 7:30 p.m. on the Middle School lawn. No tickets are required. Information about Alicia Freeman's award along with her photo originally appeared in an article by the Notre Dame University of Maryland on May 19, 2022 |