Award honors extra effort by teachers
A teacher in the Albert Gallatin Area School District or Diocese of Greensburg who makes a difference in a student’s life or inspires a colleague could receive a well-deserved reward. Through Feb. 8, students, parents, other teachers, administrators and anyone else interested in giving that teacher some special recognition may nominate him or her for the Teacher Excellence Foundation Teacher Excellence Awards program.
“It’s really a way to recognize outstanding teachers,” said Dr. Denise Martin, an A.G. administrator.
The foundation has launched its 11th year of the awards program and plans for the 2002-2003 school year to award a collective $63,000 to the selected teachers in southwestern Pennsylvania.
The teachers will be honored at the Celebration of Teaching dinner May 7.
Teachers with a permanent teaching certification from 39 participating school districts – which in the local area include A.G. and the Diocese of Greensburg, representing local Catholic schools – can be nominated. The nominees must be employed full time, teaching in kindergarten through 12th grade.
Sixty teachers of distinction and 60 finalists will be honored. Each teacher of distinction will receive $300 and a crystal trophy and will be eligible to compete for one of the seven major awards that progress to the top honor: the $20,000 Robert F. Wolf Award.
Martin said anyone who is interested can pick up a nomination form at any of the A.G. school offices, and nominations also can be submitted online.
“We obviously encourage the public and students to nominate their teachers, because this is a worthwhile recognition and there is a monetary award involved,” she said.
The Teacher Excellence Foundation Web site is www.tefawards.com.
The four-page nomination form is broken down into four parts under the categories classroom environment, instructional process, and professional and community involvement.
The teachers of distinction and finalists will be announced March 25, and personal interviews for the teachers of distinction will be conducted April 26, with the major awards given at the May 7 dinner.
For more information regarding the program, call Christine Veverka, director of operations, at 412-344-4540 or e-mail: cveverka@tefawards.com.