Teacher Awards

Read about awards for teachers, including the National Teacher of the Year award, and the teachers who win them
Teaching Profession Opinion Come Back Better
The end of each school year is the beginning of the next fresh start for all of us. It is our chance to begin anew, to re-write the playbook, and to get it more right next time. In this way, commencement is for teachers too.
June 15, 2016
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4 min read
Recruitment & Retention Opinion Feeling Stuck in the 'Right Field' of Teaching? How Teachers Can Get 'Unstuck' This Summer
Your worth as a baseball player doesn't come from your position; it comes from how you play it. It's true, you can stand out there for 18 innings and put in your time and think the world is unfair. Or you can move. You can back up third or second, you can gauge the batter and you can encourage your teammates. Standing is a choice. Moving is a choice.
Sarah Brown Wessling, June 9, 2016
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3 min read
Recruitment & Retention Opinion State Teacher of the Year Says Teacher Appreciation Week Not Enough
Our nation's teachers are the infrastructure of this republic. Like water pipelines, roads, and bridges their purpose is that of the common good. When they do their job, it permits every other aspect of our society to function properly. But this isn't reflected in their level of appreciation
May 24, 2016
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4 min read
Recruitment & Retention Opinion Will Teaching Change or Will We Just Keep Complaining?
I would describe our system as a spider web of interdependency, and I believe it will take transformation of almost every thread to rebuild it into a system that our kids not only deserve, but that our economy will need to continue to grow. There is no simple, cheap miracle fix that will bring about transformative change for the education profession and the American education system; the entire web needs to be re-woven.
May 18, 2016
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4 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion American Schools Still Have Bragging Rights
America has always had a complicated relationship with its public schools. Stop 100 people at the mall and ask them about their child's teacher, and you will hear affection in the vast majority of responses. Dare to suggest that a small school close and merge with another school 10 miles away, and you will hear passionate loyalty. Yet we still perceive our national system to be inferior
April 20, 2016
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5 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion Answering the Million Dollar Question
A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to come to Washington DC and talk about innovative models for professional development that are cropping up around the country. I sat on a panel with a very distinguished education scholar from Harvard, two practicing teachers, and two principals; all of us engaged in re-imagining how professional development can and should be delivered to teachers. I shared the work I'm helping lead in Burbank to an audience of advocates, policy-builders, union leaders, educators, and non-profit organizers.
April 7, 2016
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5 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion What Accomplished Teachers Really Think about Federal Education Policy
Before making any sweeping changes to education policy, I would want to know this: What do teachers think? Even better: What do our best teachers think?
April 5, 2016
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2 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion When You're a Teacher Leader, Waiting for That First Follower
If you are a teacher leader who finds yourself working furiously, but still waiting for that first follower to make you feel not so alone, here are some dollops of wisdom collected from others like you.
March 23, 2016
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3 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion The Global Teacher Prize: A Message of Respect
By: Joseph Fatheree
It was around this time a year ago that I found myself sitting in attendance at the International Summit on the Teaching Profession listening to the world's education leaders discussing the pressing issues of the day. I was one of six teachers that had been invited by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to attend the meeting as an official delegate. One of the main themes of the event was teacher efficacy. During one of the sessions, Andreas Schleicher, OECD's Director for the Directorate of Education and Skills, shared the results of the TALIS Report. The findings were concerning as more and more teachers around the world were growing dissatisfied.  Everyone in attendance agreed this was an issue. However, no resolutions were made. As a teacher, I left Alberta, Canada discouraged that public support for education and teacher moral was at an all time low. 
March 17, 2016
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2 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion Making Three Teacher Wishes a Reality
In schools across the country, the décor of hearts and snowman is being replaced by shamrocks and rainbows as the winter blahs begin to melt with the rising temperatures.  I often read leprechaun tales to my students in March, encouraging them to write what they would spend the pot of gold on or what they would ask the leprechaun for if granted three wishes.  This time, I'm giving my 3 teacher wishes but I'm going to add some actions that can make those wishes come true.
March 7, 2016
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4 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion Changing the Ask: Shifting the Questions Around Teaching and Learning
"You do have an ability to get students to do things, now it is about changing what you ask students to do."
February 24, 2016
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3 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion Are You Ready
Put your eye on some kind of change you would like to make--in your classroom, within your department or grade level, or within your entire school, and create your own leadership role by reaching out to another educator, Angie Miller writes.
February 10, 2016
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5 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion So Normal It Hurts
The National Teacher of the Year has often been someone selected for their powerful, unique story. Mary Beth was simply a great teacher, from a medium-sized town in Minnesota. She was powerful in a completely different way. Time and time again, I heard her say: Any teacher can become a leader. You don't have to have a dazzling presence or a compelling background. Normal people can lead. Look at me, she would say. I'm so normal it hurts.
Nancy Flanagan, February 6, 2016
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2 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion Will ESSA Offer New Leadership Opportunities for Educators?
Maddie Fennell explains the benefits and inclusiveness teachers will experience with the birth of the Every Student Succeeds Act.
January 7, 2016
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4 min read
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