Have a nominee for Idaho’s Teacher of the Year? The State Department of Education is taking nominations until Aug. 20.

The contest began in 1959 and focuses public attention on excellence in teaching.

The Idaho Teacher of the Year is chosen by a committee that includes education leaders and lawmakers. Each school district and charter school may nominate one teacher.

The Idaho Teacher of the Year also becomes a nominee for the National Teacher of the Year, a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers that is sponsored by Scholastic Inc.

Read our profile on last year’s winner, Kim Zeydel from West Ada School District.

Click here for contest details and the nomination form. Click here for a list of past winners.