When Wilbur Purdue heard his name announced during a ceremony recognizing the state’s top achievers in history, he wasn’t sure what was going on.

“I thought maybe I left the lights on in the car,” Purdue said. “My wife said I looked angry and confused. I was confused.”

Purdue admits he had partly tuned out the lengthy awards ceremony during Washington State History Day at Green River Community College in Auburn earlier this month because the category in which his Coupeville students were entered had long since passed.

But when it came time to recognize the state’s top teachers in connection with National History Day, Purdue had no idea that some of his students and their parents had nominated him.

Purdue, who teaches at Coupeville Middle and High School, was one of only two teachers from Washington who were recognized.

He received $500, a plaque and was the state’s only teacher in the high school category nominated for the national Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year Award.

The nominees are those who have shown “outstanding creativity, commitment and inspiration in developing student interest in history,” according to a National History Day release.

Purdue, who is a middle school science teacher, has taught an after-school program through National History Day in 12 of the 13 years he’s worked in Coupeville.

The project-based program with an annual competition focuses on history for students in sixth through 12th grade.

Several Coupeville students over the years have advanced to the national level.

“Wilbur is the consummate, extra, go-above-and-beyond-the-call-of-duty type of teacher working with these History Day kids,” said Superintendent Jim Shank. “We’ve had great performances from students. He gets in there and takes care of business with them. He’s that kind of teacher.”

“I’ve had 140-plus kids in the program over the last 12 years,” said Purdue, who also participated in the program when he was a student in Coupeville. “Forty of those made it to the national level for competition and several gained first in the nation. Coupeville has a long history of doing well.”

Purdue, who earned a bachelor’s degree in history at the University of Washington, said the community has been incredibly supportive over the years.

“No kid has ever had to pay their own way to a national or state contest,” he said.