Angela Ammerman, orchestra director at Annandale High School was selected to represent Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in The Washington Post’s Teacher of the Year program.

In previous years, the FCPS Outstanding Teacher and Outstanding Principal were selected in the winter and submitted to the Washington Post for their Teacher and Principal of the Year program. The recipients of these two awards were the only ones notified earlier than the FCPS Honors event in June. To align with other employee awards, the FCPS Outstanding Teacher and Outstanding Principal will be named at the FCPS Honors event. As the Washington Post submission deadline remains during the winter, it was determined by the FCPS Leadership Team that two of last year’s award finalists would be submitted to the Washington Post to represent FCPS in order to meet its deadline.

Angela Ammerman is the orchestra director at Annandale High School. Ammerman has been recognized for her innovative and successful teaching methods previously, having been named the Virginia Orchestra Director of the Year by the American String Teachers Association in 2015. Using the belief that all students have the ability to feel and make music, Ammerman’s passion and dedication to music education shows in the way she tirelessly recruits students from all backgrounds for Annandale’s orchestra program. She began her teaching career in North Carolina and has been teaching in Fairfax County Public Schools since 2010. Nominators commend her commitment and empathy towards others, evident when she organized a benefit concert to help cover medical expenses for one of her students. Ammerman is active in many professional organizations and has served as a clinician at music conferences across the United States. She earned her bachelor of music education from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, and her master’s of music education from Boston University. She recently completed her doctoral degree in music education from George Mason University.