Hingham teacher nominated for NHL’s Most Valuable Teacher Award

HINGHAM, Mass. — Hingham fifth grade teacher, Joan Kilban, is one of only three nominated teachers from the U.S. and Canada competing for the NHL and NHL Players’ Association Future Goals Most Valuable Teacher program.

The program launched at the 2020 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 1 by nominating 12 teachers from the U.S. and Canada. Another 12 teachers were nominated on Feb. 1 and again on March 1.

Joan Kilban was one of the March nominees. Throughout each month, fans, teachers, students and parents were able to visit NHL.com/MVT and vote once a day, every day, for their favorite teacher. Joan received overwhelming support from Hingham students and families, the people of her hometown of Weymouth, Mass., as well as countless Bruins fan groups in New England and across the continent.

Joan has been a teacher (and was a former student) at Plymouth River Elementary School in Hingham, Massachusetts for 24 years. Her and her family (husband Mark and kids Kathleen and Sean) are die hard Bruins fans and hockey fans. In 2011 Joan got involved with the Bruins Academy teachers program. This is a free program that provides practical life lessons and skills built around the sport of hockey and the careers other than being a hockey player.

In 2014 Joan got involved in the NHL/NHLPA Future Goals program. The Future Goals Program partners with EverFi, a leading critical skills education platform, to teach important skills with a STEM sports curriculum that helps prepare kids for success in life. The program uses hockey as a STEM learning vehicle to help students understand real-world applications of science and math principles.

And now Joan is one of three national finalists for the NHL Future Goals Most Valuable Teacher Award. Voting will open on Monday May 4 and continue to May 8.

You can vote here.

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