The State Department of Education is accepting 2021 nominations for Idaho’s top teaching honor, Teacher of the Year.
“We all know amazing Idaho teachers, and now is your opportunity to nominate a passionate, talented teacher in your school as Idaho’s next Teacher of the Year,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra. “Let’s make the selection committee’s job particularly hard this year with many great choices from all parts of the state, subjects and grade levels.”
To nominate a teacher, go to the SDE’s Teacher of the Year website and fill out the online nomination form. Submissions will be accepted through Monday, April 27.
Nominated teachers will be notified and will have until June 1 to apply for the honor. Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee, and the winning teacher will be announced in September during a surprise visit to their school.
The 2021 Teacher of the Year will receive a cash award and travel across Idaho talking with other teachers, legislators and policymakers about education in our state. She or he will serve as Idaho’s nominee for National Teacher of the Year and will travel to Washington, D.C., in the spring to meet with other state winners, the President of the United States, and other leaders.
Idaho’s next Teacher of the Year will take over for 2020 Teacher of the Year Stacie Lawler, a health and physical education teacher from Spirit Lake who is passionate about mental health and social-emotional learning. Other recent Idaho Teachers of the Year include American Falls agriculture instructor and FFA advisor Marc Beitia in 2019, and Caldwell chemistry and language arts teacher Becky Mitchell in 2018.
