Pamela Harman, earth science teacher at Spain Park High School, has been named the 2007-2008 Alabama Teacher of the Year, making her the second Shelby County area teacher in a row to receive the honor.

&8220;It&8217;s a little overwhelming,&8221; Harman said. &8220;I&8217;m just enjoying the moment until I get into what this year entails for me.&8221;

State Superintendent of Education Joseph Morton made the announcement during a Montgomery reception honoring the 16 district finalists.

&8220;I was very honored and very humbled. Some of the people who were in that room are some of the most amazing teachers that I know,&8221; she said.

Morton commended Harman&8217;s efforts in the classroom as well as her own educational journey. The National Board Certified teacher was the first in her family to graduate from college, earning some scholarship money, but working three jobs when it ran out.

&8220;The outlook for my future looked pretty grim,&8221; she said. So she joined the Marines and began taking classes between missions.

She eventually graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Cum Laude and earned her master&8217;s in geosciences from Mississippi State University. Harman, who is in her 10th year of teaching, moved from Hoover High to Spain Park in 2002.

She will spend much of the year serving as state spokesperson for education and will represent the state for National Teacher of the Year, which is announced by the president each year in April