Teacher Awards

Read about awards for teachers, including the National Teacher of the Year award, and the teachers who win them
From left: John Arthur (Utah), Alejandro Diasgranados (D.C.), Maureen Stover (N.C.), Juliana Urtubey (Nev.)
From left: John Arthur (Utah), Alejandro Diasgranados (D.C.), Maureen Stover (N.C.), Juliana Urtubey (Nev.)
Courtesy of CCSSO
Teaching Profession Here Are the Four Finalists for 2021 National Teacher of the Year
The four finalists for the 2021 National Teacher of the Year challenge inequities both in their school communities and on a national level.
Madeline Will, January 27, 2021
5 min read
Teaching Profession Tabatha Rosproy Is the First Early Childhood Educator to Be National Teacher of the Year
The first preschool teacher to win the national award in its 68-year history teaches in a local retirement community and nursing home in Winfield, Kan.
Madeline Will, May 21, 2020
5 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Image of Linda Rost, Chris Dier, Leila Kubesch, and Tabatha Rosproy, courtesy of CCSSO
Teaching Profession Teacher of the Year Nominees Speak Out
The four finalists for National Teacher of the Year say their fellow teachers are sharing their stories and their students' stories more than ever, and it's time for policymakers to listen.
March 3, 2020
6 min read
Teaching Profession Q&A The Nation's Top Teachers on Self-Care, Student Voice, and What They Would Say to Trump
The four finalists for National Teacher of the Year say their fellow teachers are sharing their stories and their students' stories more than ever, and it's time for policymakers to listen.
Madeline Will, February 24, 2020
11 min read
Teaching Profession Meet the Top Four Teachers in the Country
The Council of Chief State Schools Officers announced the four finalists for the National Teacher of the Year.
Madeline Will, January 16, 2020
4 min read
Teaching Profession Trump Did Attend Teacher of the Year Ceremony, But Two Honorees Boycotted
Two award-winning teachers boycotted today's White House ceremony honoring the teachers of the year, saying that they wouldn't support an administration whose policies they feel have harmed their immigrant, refugee, and LGBTQ students.
Sarah Schwartz, April 29, 2019
6 min read
Teaching Profession President Trump Won't Meet With National Teacher of the Year at the White House
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will instead present the award to 2019 Teacher of the Year Rodney Robinson, according to the Council of Chief State School Officers.
Sarah Schwartz, April 26, 2019
3 min read
Teaching Profession Rodney Robinson, Who Teaches Civics to Students in Juvenile Detention, Wins 2019 National Teacher of the Year
Robinson said his students, who are all incarcerated, deserve as much of a chance to achieve as other teenagers. "They just made mistakes, and they're paying for mistakes. But America is a country of second chances."
Sarah Schwartz, April 24, 2019
4 min read
Teaching Profession Video ‘We Shouldn’t Just Stay in Our Classrooms. We’re Teachers’
Mandy Manning has not been shy about advocating for her immigrant and refugee students. When she was awarded the 2018 National Teacher of the Year, she presented President Donald Trump with letters from her students talking about what coming to the U.S. meant to them, but also how his negative rhetoric about immigrants empowers their classmates to say hateful things such as, “go back to your country.” Along with several state teachers of the year, she recently organized a Teach-In in El Paso, Texas, to protest undocumented families from being separated and detained. In an interview with correspondent Kavitha Cardoza, Manning talks about some of the early experiences she had teaching in Armenia and Japan and how feeling like an outsider informs her teaching. She also addresses how students are feeling more empowered (and why that’s not always a good thing) and why she continues to fight this fight.
Kavitha Cardoza, March 7, 2019
4:53
National Teacher of the Year finalists Rodney Robinson, Danielle Riha, Kelly Harper, and Donna Gradel at the CCSSO office.
National Teacher of the Year finalists Rodney Robinson, Danielle Riha, Kelly Harper, and Donna Gradel at the CCSSO office.
Photo courtesy of CCSSO.
Teaching Profession Q&A We Must Restore Respect to the Teaching Profession, Nation's Top Teachers Say
The four nationally recognized educators spoke about attracting new talent to the profession and the importance of civics education.
Sarah Schwartz, February 25, 2019
6 min read
Teaching Profession These Are the Four Top Teachers in America
Educators from Oklahoma, Washington, D.C., Alaska, and Virginia were named 2019 National Teacher of the Year finalists.
Sarah Schwartz, January 23, 2019
2 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion 24 Days of Teacher Encouragement: A Quick Way to Lift Up a Colleague
How to make a quick (and meaningful) holiday gift for a new teacher
December 10, 2018
1 min read
Teaching Profession Jahana Hayes on Her Path From Classroom to Congress (Video)
In an exclusive interview with Education Week, the nationally recognized teacher who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives discusses why she decided to run and her priorities as a new lawmaker.
Sarah Schwartz, November 28, 2018
1 min read
Teaching Profession National Teacher of the Year—a 'Hero' of Bill Gates—Calls on Teachers to Be Activists
"Local rules generally dictate what actually occurs in our classrooms, and in my experience, it's also where educators are most often left out," writes Mandy Manning.
Sarah Schwartz, August 22, 2018
2 min read