Teacher of the Year Program

Program Overview

Do you know a special teacher that has made a difference in the lives of his/her learners by exemplifying best teaching practices while serving as an ambassador for public education?  Someone who understands and demonstrates transformational leadership in the classroom? An educator who fully embraces, supports and promotes the core values and vision of the Lancaster Independent School District? Lancaster ISD is looking for one Elementary and one Secondary representative who fit that description and possess the following characteristics:

  • Has tremendous concern for all learners and the ability to engage and inspire them

  • Exhibits the capacity and willingness to work cooperatively with colleagues and different groups in the community

  • A drive to initiate activities that transform instruction and engage all learners

  • The desire to stay informed about current educational trends and practices and the aptitude to incorporate what is learned into the classroom

  • An ability and willingness to make meaningful contributions to education

  • A willingness to implement innovative, creative ideas and use the most current technology resources

  • Demonstrate and inspire great teaching which is key to deep learning!

 The Lancaster ISD Secondary and Elementary Teacher of the year will go on to represent Lancaster ISD in the Region 10 Teacher of the Year competition. Therefore, it is important that each Lancaster ISD Teacher of the Year nomination is…

  • Memorable for the teacher

  • Valuable for learners

  • Significant for the school and faculty

  • Meaningful for the school district, its leaders and patrons

  • Good for the community 

  • Important for the profession

One Campus Teacher of the Year will be selected from each school, based on the submitted nominations. From those 12 teachers, one Elementary educator (grades Pre-K – 5th grade) and one Secondary educator (grades 6 – 12) will be selected as the Lancaster ISD Teachers of the Year. These two finalists will serve as the District’s nominees for the Region 10 and State Teacher of the Year honors.

 Criteria

In order to be nominated for Teacher of the Year, the teacher must:

  • Be certified to teach in Texas public schools

  • Have been employed in LISD schools for a minimum of three years (at least be in his/her third year in LISD)

  • Be a classroom teacher (including PE, art, music, special education, literacy, etc.)

  • Plan to continue teaching in LISD through the following school year. (Must sign a letter of intent.)

Nomination Process

A teacher may be nominated by a campus colleague on their campus. A completed nomination form is required to be submitted to the campus principal by the due date, which is listed on the nomination form. All nominations will be reviewed by the campus TOY selection committee and selected by scoring based on the rubric provided. The campus TOY will then advance to the district TOY selection process.

TOY