Sep. 28, 2023 By Rachel Butler
Nominations are now open for public school teachers in Queens for the FLAG Awards, which recognize teaching excellence in the borough and across New York City.
The annual program, which is in its fifth year, is adding the new category of Top Elementary School Teacher in New York City, with a prize of $25,000 for the winning teacher’s own personal use, as well as $10,000 for their school. There will be six public schools and teachers in total who will receive the prizes of $25,000 and $10,000 for other titles.
Additionally, all finalists will receive $10,000 for their personal use and their schools will receive $5,000 each to use toward an arts-based initiative. Semi-finalists will receive $1,000 for their personal use, and their schools will receive $1,000 each.
“This awards program provides the opportunity for students, parents, and other school community members to celebrate the outstanding teachers who inspire students to dream big and reach their full potential. These extraordinary educators deserve to be recognized and rewarded,” said Glenn Fuhrman, co-founder of The FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence.
In the past four years, the FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence recognized 122 teachers across the five boroughs and gave away $1,130,000 in prizes, making it the largest such award in the city.
Winners are selected by an independent jury of educators and education experts and nominations are open from now until Nov. 23. Semi-finalists will be notified in January and winners will be announced before the end of the school year.
All current full-time teachers in New York City public schools from grades pre-K to 12 with at least five years of classroom experience are eligible and teachers can be nominated by students, parents, principals, fellow teachers and other colleagues.
The nomination form asks nominators to fill in contact information and explain why they are nominating this teacher for the FLAG Award. Once the nomination is received, an email will be sent to the nominated teacher informing them that they have been nominated.
For more information about the awards or to nominate a teacher, visit the FLAG Awards website.