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Colorado Teacher of the Year
Nominations for 2026 Colorado Teacher of the Year Will Open Early 2025
Nominations for the 2025 Colorado Teacher of the Year are now closed. Nominations will open in early 2025 for the 2026 Colorado Teacher of the Year.
Apply for the 2025 Colorado Teacher of the Year
Are you the next educator who will represent the profession in our state? Access the application and begin working on it before the Wednesday, June 19, 2024, deadline. Applicants do not have to be nominated to apply
2024 Colorado Teacher of the Year
Jessica May, a middle school teacher at Turner Middle School in the Thompson School District, was named the 2024 Colorado Teacher of the Year today in a surprise ceremony at her school. May teaches family and consumer science at Turner Middle School in Berthoud and taught at Conrad Ball Middle School in Loveland last school year when she was nominated. She has taught for decades in the Thompson School District, covering all manner of subjects including math, social studies, science and language arts.
About Colorado's Teacher of the Year Program
Honoring and Elevating Teachers
Each year, the Colorado Teacher of the Year Program honors an exceptionally dedicated, knowledgeable and skilled K-12 classroom teacher to represent the entire profession in the state. The selected teacher will automatically become Colorado's nominee for the National Teacher of the Year competition, a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers
The Colorado Teacher of the Year receives many professional development opportunities and, along with the country's other teachers of the year, is honored at a special ceremony at the White House and gets the opportunity to go to NASA's Space Camp. The teacher also becomes a member of the Colorado Education Commissioner's Teacher Cabinet.
View previous Colorado Teachers of the Year
Preserving and Enhancing Teacher of the Year Programs
The Colorado Council of the Network of State Teachers of the Year (NSTOY) is an organization committed to the preservation and enhancement of the Colorado Teacher of the Year Program. The Council works with the Colorado Department of Education and other corporate and organizational partners to celebrate teaching excellence through the recognition of educators who have inspired a love for learning in their students, and who have distinguished themselves in the profession.
All Colorado State Teachers of the Year, as well as each year's finalists, are invited to participate.
News
Program Partners
The Colorado Teacher of the Year program is sponsored by the Boettcher Foundation and supported by partnerships with the Colorado Education Association, Adams State University, Blue Bell Ice Cream, and Denver 7.
Contact Us
Need more information?
Please contact Patty Gleason in Grants Program Administration, Gleason_P@cde.state.co.us, 303-910-5721 (c).
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