Teacher Recognition Nomination Process
2007-2008

Nomination forms will be accepted from November 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007.

Criteria are based on the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards policy statement, What Teachers Should Know And Be Able To Do.

Nominations may be submitted on-line at
www.teacherpa.com or mailed to:

Teacher Excellence Center
4701 Baptist Road, Ste 210A
Pittsburgh, PA 15227
Phone 412-440-0514
Fax 412-440-0517

If the nominated teacher wishes to participate in the program, they must submit the completed Program Application and return it to the Teacher Excellence Center before January 22, 2008.

Judges will score the nomination forms and program applications in their area of expertise. (For example, an elementary school principal would judge nominees in the “Grades K-4” category.)

A panel of judges, comprised of experienced professional educators, will score the nomination forms and program applications. Nominees will never be judged by an educator from their district. Each nomination form and program application will be read and scored by two judges. These judges will work independently of each other. The two judges' scores will be added together for the total nomination score of the Nominee.

One hundred Nominees who receive the highest scores based on the answers submitted on their nomination form and program application will be deemed "Honorees."

The 100 Honorees will be asked to answer an essay question. Essays will be read and scored by two judges from a second panel of judges. These judges will work independently of each other. The two judges' scores will be added together for the total essay score of the Honoree.

The 100 Honorees will have a personal interview with a panel of two judges, neither of whom has scored the Honorees nomination form, program application or essays. These judges will work independently of each other. The two judges' scores will be added together for the total interview score of the Honoree.

The total score for each Honoree will be the cumulative scores of the nomination form, program application, essay and personal interview. The teachers with the top scores in four categories will be deemed “Teachers of Excellence.”

The Teachers of Excellence will be chosen from the following 4 categories.

1. Grades K-4 (Two Teachers of Excellence will be awarded from this category).

2. Grades 5-8 (Two Teachers of Excellence will be awarded from this category).

3. Grades 9-12 (Two Teachers of Excellence will be awarded from this category).

4. New teachers (who have not received permanent certification) – K-12 (One Teacher of Excellence will be awarded “The Rising Star Award” in this category)

— Teachers of Excellence will be chosen from the top scoring nominees in each category.
— Teachers may be recognized as Honorees for a maximum of two times. If they score in the top 100 a third time, they will be placed into a “Hall of Fame” but will not be deemed as an Honoree for that year.

General Information

School districts will be provided with master copies of nomination forms to copy and distribute to all school buildings.

Posters will be provided to the school districts for display. Please distribute in high traffic areas.

All teachers nominated will receive a copy of the nomination form(s) submitted on their behalf and a program application. The district will also receive copies of nomination forms submitted for their teachers.

In order to be eligible, teachers must work full-time in a participating school district and be a classroom teacher, librarian or guidance counselor.

All Nominees must be approved by their superintendent before they may go to the next level.

No nominee is ever reviewed by the same judge in any step of the process.

The schools of the seven Teachers of Excellence will each receive a $2,500 grant.

The seven Teachers of Excellence will be announced at the Celebration of Teaching event scheduled for April 24, 2008.