Gold Star Award for Outstanding Teaching Guidelines and Process

The purpose of the Gold Star Award for Outstanding Teaching is to stop and notice the classroom teaching stars shining quietly among us. The McElroy Trust, KWWL and The Gold Star Awards Committee are seeking primary and secondary teachers who embody all a star symbolizes. These are the teachers who spark students imagination and ignite a love for learning...teachers who set a shining example...teachers who make a difference in the lives of their students. These are the teachers who challenge our children to reach for the stars.

To identify and honor these shining stars of teaching, The McElroy Trust and KWWL are again conducting The Gold Star Award for Outstanding Teaching. The Gold Star Awards will go to ten outstanding elementary, intermediate, and secondary school teachers in Black Hawk County. The The Gold Star Awards will be presented at a ceremony in May. Each Gold Star Award will include a cash prize of $1,000 for the honored teacher. The entire program is under the guidance of the The Gold Star Awards Committee, a representative group of Black Hawk County volunteers.

To be considered for the Gold Star Award, teachers must first be nominated by someone familiar with their classroom work. The nominator could be a student or parent, a colleague or administrator, or someone from the community at large who knows the teacher's work. Self-nomination is also encouraged. To prevent any conflict of interest, The Gold Star Awards Committee will keep the names of nominators confidential until the school year ends. Members, relatives and employees of The McElroy Trust, KWWL and The Gold Star Awards Committee are ineligible for nomination.

Nominees must be employed full-time as non-administrative staff, hold a current teaching certificate and be teaching at an elementary-including state certified preschools, intermediate or secondary school approved by the Iowa Department of Education and located in Black Hawk County, Iowa. The Gold Star Awards Committee will strive to select winners from the full range of grade levels. Nominees will be contacted by The Gold Star Awards Committee and asked to complete an application. A special subcommittee of The Gold Star Awards Committee, the Selection Committee, will review both nominations and applications and choose the winners of the Gold Star Award. The Selection Committee will contact references submitted by nominees in their applications.

Throughout the process, the Selection Committee will consider nominees' classroom effectiveness, unique teaching activities, and impact on students. The Selection Committee will also consider nominees' peer leadership and commitment to teaching. The Selection Committee will look for teachers who rise above everyday standards and expectations to help students achieve their fullest potential. These are teaching's brightest stars: those who love learning and instill that joy in their students.