Nominations are now being accepted for 2025-2026 Teacher of the Year, Early Excellence Educator and DCPS Team Members of the Year.
All nominations must be submitted online by 8:00 pm on January 21st for consideration.
Teacher of the Year
Teacher of the Year nominees must have completed a minimum of five years of successful teaching experience at the time of nomination. Nominees must be professionally licensed and highly qualified full-time teachers who spend the majority of their time teaching. Nominees must also continue to teach in Dorchester County through the 2025-2026 school year and must be available to attend all events associated with the Teacher of the Year program.
The selection process: Nomination lists will be sent to each school principal, who will determine one school finalist for Teacher of the Year. That finalist will be notified by DCPS Human Resources. Finalists will submit an application portfolio, participate in an interview and a classroom visit that will be scored by a panel of judges. Final scores from the portfolios, interviews and classroom visits will be calculated to determine the DCPS Teacher of the Year, who will be announced at the DCPS Awards Night on April 3rd.
Teacher Of The Year Nomination Form
Early Excellence Educator
Early Excellence Educator nominees must be non-tenured teachers having completed fewer than three years of successful teaching, who are on track to achieve tenure. Nominees must be highly qualified teachers, who spend the majority of their time teaching. They must also continue to teach in Dorchester County through the 2025-2026 school year.
The selection process: Nomination lists will be sent to each school principal, who will determine one school finalist for Early Excellence Educator. That finalist will be notified by DCPS Human Resources. Finalists will submit an application portfolio, along with a video recording of a lesson that will be scored by a panel of judges. Final scores from the portfolios and videos will be calculated to determine the DCPS Early Excellence Educator, who will be announced at the DCPS Awards Night on April 3rd.
Early Excellence Educator Nomination Form
Team Members of the Year
Nominees for Team Member of the Year must be full-time employees of Dorchester County Public Schools. Their supervisor and/or school principal will determine their eligibility to be named as a finalist in the slated categories. One winner for each of the following four categories will be selected by a panel of judges based on a rating rubric score:
Service Above Self
Community Connections
Impact
Leadership
The winner will be notified by February 28 and celebrated at DCPS Awards night on April 3rd.
Team Member of the Year Nomination Form
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Mrs. Renee Warfield (warfieldr@dcpsmd.org) or Mrs. Shamya Johnson Stover (johnsonsh@dcpsmd.org), your Teacher of the Year and DCPS Awards co-coordinators.