The Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year Program (PA-TOY) recognizes excellence in teaching by honoring K-12 teachers in public education who have made outstanding academic contributions to Pennsylvania’s school-aged children. It is our sincere hope that you or someone in your educational community will take time to acknowledge the efforts of those teachers who have worked to achieve excellence in the classroom. With the challenges our educators have faced over the past few years, let’s show them our support.

Each school district, IU, CTC, and charter school may nominate a deserving educator from both the elementary and secondary levels. Please encourage local education agency (LEA) educators, parents, students, and community members to nominate an outstanding educator. Efforts to recognize a deserving teacher in your LEA are deeply appreciated.

The nomination form, along with additional information about the Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year program may be found at https://nnstoy.org/chapter/pennsylvania. The nomination form is completed and sent to Tim Dzurko at [email protected]. Nominations received after December 17, 2022, will be considered for the following year.

When a nomination is received, the nominee will be sent an application, which will be due back to Tim Dzurko at [email protected] by January 15, 2023. A total of 12 finalists will be selected from across the commonwealth and honored at a state awards ceremony in December of 2023. There are three rounds of scoring for PA-TOY: application, phone interview, and videotaped teaching lesson with a message to pre-service teachers.

One finalist will be chosen as Pennsylvania’s 2024 Teacher of the Yearand will represent Pennsylvania at the 2025 National Teacher of the Year ceremony at the White House.

If selected as the Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year, duties may include:

Year 1: Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year

• Represent Pennsylvania’s teachers at the state level
• Serve as the keynote speaker at various conferences, school districts, charter schools, intermediate units, and post-secondary schools
• Facilitate workshops and professional development sessions for school districts, charter schools, intermediate units, and post-secondary schools
• Participate as necessary in interviews with local, state, or national media outlets and publications
• Apply for National Teacher of the Year with guidance from PDE and NSTOY-PA
• Serve as keynote speaker at the annual Standards Aligned System (SAS) Institute, and mentor the newly named Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year

Year 2: Pennsylvania Candidate for National Teacher of the Year

• Represent Pennsylvania as the state’s nominee at the National Teacher of the Year conference
• Serve as a spokesperson for teachers across the commonwealth
• Attend the National Teacher of the Year Ceremony at the White House in Washington, DC
• Attend Space Camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama

Timeline:

1. Through December 17, 2022: Nominations accepted for 2024 PA-TOY
2. January 15, 2023: Deadline for nominated teachers to submit applications to NSTOY-PA
3. March 2023: 12 finalists notified
4. December 2023: 2024 finalists and Teacher of the Year named at SAS Institute  

Questions about Pennsylvania’s Teacher of the Year Program should be directed to Barbara Clemmer, State Coordinator, at 717-425-5728 or [email protected].