Awards Given by PAC-TE

PAC-TE seeks to honor its members and others in the education community each year through a number of awards.  Most of these awards rely on your nominations.

We encourage you to nominate individuals worthy of PAC-TE's awards, or nominate yourself. For PAC-TE's Award Policy click here.

View a historical listing of awards granted by PAC-TE over the years here.

The PAC-TE Friend of Education (FOE) Award is conferred upon an individual who has expressed an ongoing conviction that highest quality teacher preparation programs are essential in achieving the goal espoused by PAC-TE wherein all learners – PK through 12 – are entitled to the right to achieve.  The FOE recipient will have demonstrated publicly and consistently the belief that every student at all levels and in all settings has the opportunity and the right to learn with the most highly qualified and effective teachers possible.  FOE candidates (who may or may not be members of PAC-TE) will be nominated by the Awards Committee prior to the September meeting of the Board of Directors, at which directors will select, an awardee, via majority vote.  The President of PAC-TE will present the FOE Award recipient at the annual Teacher Education Assembly, and the Executive Director will announce the award to all members and to the press.  The FOE Award is not necessarily bestowed annually; it is only conferred when a qualified candidate is identified.

Service Awards are conferred upon departing members of the Board of Directors, including those on the Executive Committee, at the annual Teacher Education Assembly immediately following the awardees’ departure from the Board.  Service Award recipients will be asked to accept a plaque in recognition for their service to PAC-TE or to identify an institution/organization to receive a monetary contribution in honor of the Service Award Recipient.

PAC-TE offers three Professional Achievement Awards to its members (Click on the title of the Award to go to information page and application):

Outstanding Dissertation Award

Distinguished Research Award

Exemplary Service/Partnership Award

 To be considered for a Professional Achievement Award, application materials must be received by September 30. 

• Award recipients will be honored at the Fall TEA Awards Dinner.
• Recipients will receive a one-year complimentary PAC-TE membership and the opportunity to present at the Fall TEA.

Please submit application materials according to the general instructions below and the specific instructions for each award.

Finally, the PAC-TE Teacher Educator of the Year (TEOY) Award is conferred upon an individual who has directly participated in and contributed to the preparation of candidates for teacher certification in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  Candidates are nominated by PAC-TE members or are self-nominated with an attached letter of endorsement from a PAC-TE member.  Candidates must be currently employed in a teacher education capacity in Pennsylvania and must be current members of PAC-TE.  TEOY candidates will be evaluated according to criteria delineated on the application itself (click on the application title below). If nominees fail to meet the award criteria to a high standard, determined by the Board of Directors, then PAC-TE will not confer a TEOY award for that year.  Additionally:

1. Nominations will be due no later than September 30.
2. The identity of nominees will not be shared other than among the committee. 
3. The process of ranking nominees and the ranking of nominees will not be shared other than among the committee.
4. Those who are nominated but not selected will be encouraged to apply again in the future, without any sharing of rankings, or suggestions for improvement of the application. 
5. The Past President will inform the President and Executive Director of the awardee no later than October 15.
6. Award will be a surprise to all except the president, committee, executive director, and colleagues of the awardee who it is necessary to contact in order to have the awardee present when the award is presented.
7. Award will be presented in the form of a plaque at the Awards Banquet at the fall Teacher Education Assembly Award to be announced to all members and an announcement released to the press by the Executive Director.

Application for the PAC-TE Teacher Educator of the Year Award (TEOY)

General Submission Instructions (for all awards)

1. Application narratives must be entered into our online application, and thus, narratives must be copy/pasted or typed into the application. Use care to remove special formatting when copying and pasting.
2. References should be included.
3. To facilitate blind review, omit any identifying information from the narrative.
4. All applications must be received by midnight, September 30.