Awards Policy

PAC-TE AWARDS POLICY

(As adopted by the PAC-TE Board of Directors on June 20, 2013)

Awards Committee

The Awards Committee is an ad hoc committee chaired by the Past President with two additional members of the Board of Directors nominated by the President and appointed by the Board of Directors at its third meeting of the fiscal year.

 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.  If candidates fail to receive a minimum score, 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 August 1 to the Past President.
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 September 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.

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.

Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) unit awards dossiers are co-authored by the PAC-TE Executive Director and one member of the Board of Directors; the dossier is introduced by a letter from the PAC-TE President.  Applications for ATE unit awards will typically be prepared each fall by the co-authors and submitted electronically to ATE for review in December.