In order to better align the Kansas Teacher of the Year program with the national program, the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) recently announced some changes to the program’s timeline.

The revised schedule more closely aligns with the National Teacher of the Year program, which is administered by the Council of Chief State School Officers. Also, the possibility of a second wave of COVID-19 this fall caused concern about the cancellation of the regional award banquets in September and the state leadership conference and state awards banquet in November.

The changes to the program timeline were made after careful consideration and feedback from leadership teams across the state.

All teachers who were nominated for the 2021 Kansas Teacher of the Year will automatically become nominees for the 2022 program. Regional banquets will take place in March 2021, and other remaining program events, including a leadership conference, workshop, state awards banquet and team meeting, will take place in September 2021.

“Kansas has an incredible Kansas Teacher of the Year program,” said Tamla Miller, coordinator of the program. “This is a change that the national organization has wanted us to make for a long time, and it is one that we all believe will ultimately make our program even stronger.”

The mission of the Kansas Teacher of the Year award program is to build and utilize a network of exemplary teachers who are leaders in the improvement of schools, student performance and the teaching profession.