Teacher of the Year
About
Eligibility
Selection Process
- Local Level
- Texas school districts/charter school operators conduct their own local selection processes to choose their District Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year.
- Region Level
- Each official District Elementary and Secondary Teacher of the Year is eligible to advance to the regional/state levels. To do so, they must complete the online T
- exas Teacher of the Year application by the June deadline. The regional selection process is then conducted in June-July by the 20 Texas Regional Education Service Centers; each names a Regional Elementary and Secondary Teacher of the Year.
- State Level
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The 40 Regional Teachers of the Year are considered for Texas Teacher of the Year in a selection process facilitated by TASA. (If a Regional Teacher of the Year accepts a non-teaching position [in administration or outside a school or district] or moves to a position in which they teach students for less than four hours each day, they will not be eligible to advance in the state competition.)
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Judges meet in August each year to narrow the pool of 40 Regional Teachers of the Year to six finalists — three elementary and three secondary — based on the information provided in the Texas Teacher of the Year application. In September/October, the finalists are interviewed by a panel of judges who select the Texas Elementary and Texas Secondary Teachers of the Year.
- National Level
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When selecting the Texas Elementary and Texas Secondary Teachers of the Year, the judges designate one to serve as the official “Texas Teacher of the Year” — Texas’ nominee for National Teacher of the Year, a program conducted by the Council of Chief State School Officers.
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In January, a selection committee representing the major national education associations selects four finalists for National Teacher of the Year from the nominees submitted by the 50 states.
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National Teacher of the Year candidates must have the respect and admiration of their colleagues and:
- is an expert in their field who advances growth for students of all backgrounds and abilities
- builds collaborative relationships with colleagues, students, and families to create a school culture of equity and success
- deliberately connects the classroom to community to impact student growth and learning
- as lifelong learners and teacher leaders, they utilize innovation to create learning experiences within and beyond the classroom
- express themselves in an engaging and clear way, conveying the lived classroom experience to a variety of audiences
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The National Teacher of the Year is announced in the spring by the president during a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House and is honored at special events in the nation’s capital. The National Teacher of the Year takes a year’s sabbatical from classroom instruction and serves as a roving ambassador for the teaching profession.