Teacher of the Year Program
Purpose
The Teacher of the Year Program honors teacher excellence by recognizing teachers who have inspired a love for learning in their students and who have distinguished themselves in the profession.
Selection Process
The Assistant Superintendent’s Office will announce when Teacher of the Year nominations are open and will post the needed materials.
Building Level:
Each building will convene a committee to review the nominations for Building Teacher of the Year. Committees comprised of an odd number of members including an administrator, classroom teachers, specialized teachers, and PPS staff will use a rating scale and independently rate the applications prior to their meeting. During the meeting, committees will discuss their ratings, add any additional information about candidates and select the recipient for building Teacher of the Year. Building principals will forward the name of their school’s Teacher of the Year to the Assistant Superintendent’s office. Building Teacher of the Year recipients will decide if they wish to move forward in the process and submit the required application materials.
District Level:
A district selection committee comprised of administrators and teachers from various departments and schools (including the previous Bethel Teacher of the Year) will follow the same process as the building level, and may include a site visit, to select the district’s Teacher of the Year to represent Bethel as an applicant for the Connecticut Teacher of the Year. More information regarding the Connecticut Teacher of the Year program can be found here.
~Taken from the Connecticut Teacher of the Year Program
Districts participating in the Connecticut Teacher of the Year Program have found the program to have a positive impact on the entire community. Recognizing outstanding teachers:
establishes a culture that rewards excellence in teaching;
validates the work of teachers;
provides teachers with a platform to speak about educational issues;
gives students a sense of pride in their teachers;
showcases teachers as positive role models;
encourages students to think about teaching as a career;
gives the community a sense of pride in its teachers; and
helps to get the public involved and invested in the schools.
The criteria for selecting the recipient of the award will include the following:
the nominee should possess a superior ability to inspire learning in students.
the nominee must have taught in the Bethel Public Schools a miniumum of 5 years.
the nominee must be a CT certified teacher who has achieved tenure in Bethel and is in good standing.
the nominee must teach children at least 50% of the time.