NEA Awards for Teaching Excellence Now Available
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President of the Montana Federation of Public Employees (MFPE), Amanda Curtis announced last week that the National Education Association (NEA) has released its application materials and deadline for the NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence. The application deadline is April 1, and the Montana Professional Teaching Foundation will honor MFPE's awardee at the annual Celebration of Teaching Dinner, which will be held on October 21, 2021 during the MFPE Educators’ Conference in Great Falls.
The purpose of the NEA Foundation Awards for Teaching Excellence is to honor, reward, and promote excellence in teaching and advocacy for the profession. The NEA Foundation and NEA present the award jointly.
Active members of the MFPE working in public education are eligible to apply. Those eligible include teachers, education support professionals, and higher education faculty and staff.
About the awards, Curtis stated: “The Awards for Teaching Excellence program recognizes educators from around the country who shine in their schools, their communities, and their own learning. These educators advocate for each other, the profession, and students, and they embrace the diversity of their communities and the wider world.”
From among the applications, MFPE’s Foundation, the Montana Professional Teaching Foundation, will select an MFPE awardee and submit the awardee's name and qualifications to the NEA Foundation.
In addition to being honored at MFPE’s annual Montana Teacher Celebration, MFPE’s awardee will receive a cash prize and expenses-paid travel with a guest of choice to Washington DC for the NEA Foundation's Salute to Excellence in Education Gala in February 2022.
Applications for these national awards are judged according to five criteria: Professional Practice, Advocacy for the Profession, Attention to Equity and Diversity, Community Engagement, and Leadership in Professional Development. Panelists rate state awardees on each criterion using a point system, with the first two categories each comprising thirty per cent of the total.
Individuals are invited to self-nominate or to nominate a colleague by visiting the MFPE website: mfpe.org. Anyone with questions should call or e-mail Donna Graveley (406-442-4250 or dgraveley@mfpe.org).
All affiliate nominations must be submitted to the NEA Foundation's online application system. MFPE will complete the application online for the awardee and provide the Nomination Letter. The awardee is responsible for completing and electronically sending the required Data Sheet, Résumé, Awardee Statement, and Letters of Endorsement.
