Tennessee Teacher of the Year program outlines application steps, deadlines and benefits in statewide webinar

Sarah Brown, senior coordinator of educator recognition in the Tennessee Department of Education's Office of Academics, told a statewide webinar on Jan. 8 that district nominations, application deadlines and the multi-stage selection process for the Tennessee Teacher of the Year program are now set for the 2025 cycle.

Brown said each district was eligible to nominate up to three educators to the region-level selection and that district nominations were due Dec. 23, 2024; candidates must submit the Part 1 application by Feb. 3, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. to remain eligible. She said Part 1 includes basic biographical information, three written-response questions and an optional three-pages of supporting documentation.

"That is due on February 3, 2025 because that's the year we're in, 2025, by midnight, 11:59 PM," Brown said. She described the schedule that will follow: statewide scoring of Part 1, notification of 27 region-level semifinalists around April 1; distribution of the Part 2 application to semifinalists; Part 2 submission by May 12; statewide scoring to select nine region finalists; and a virtual interview of the nine finalists in June that, together with the application materials, will produce the state winners who represent Tennessee's east, middle and…