Outstanding Early Childhood Practitioner Award

The NAECTE/Cengage Learning Outstanding Early Childhood Practitioner (birth to eight) award is designed to recognize meritorious leadership and professionalism in contributing to preservice and/or inservice early childhood teacher education through demonstrated excellence in teaching practice and through contributing, as a classroom practitioner, in an outstanding manner to teacher education.  The deadline for submission of nominations and support materials (5 sets) to the awards committee chair is April 21. The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, 1 University Station D5700, Austin, TX 78712.

The following criteria will be used by the NAECTE Awards Committee to make the selection of the award winner.  The nominee must:

1. Be nominated by an active member of NAECTE, have received a degree in ECE, Child Development, or a related field and be a pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and/or primary teacher.
2. Request that an additional letter of support be submitted from an administrator (e.g., center director, principal, curriculum coordinator, state department of education personnel) who is knowledgeable regarding the nominee's classroom practice and contributions to teacher education.
3. Submit a vita/resume and a small portfolio* of 3-4 items documenting the nominee's contributions to early childhood teacher education.
4. The nominee should demonstrate through the letters and portfolio material:  

a. Modeling of developmentally appropriate reflective practices in her/his own classroom. 

b. Mentoring of preservice and/or inservice teachers, supervising practicum students, and/or providing inservice courses and seminars, and/or collaborating with university teacher education faculty via writing for publication or engaging in teacher research.

The nomination letters should describe how the nominee meets the above criteria.* Portfolios might include 3-4 of the following items:

1. Article co-authored with university colleague or teacher colleague.
2. Handouts from workshop presented with university colleague, with teaching colleague, and/or with preservice students.
3. One page philosophy statement.
4. Photos of classroom or other teacher education activities.
5. Program development for professional organization.
6. Description of an instructional approach or activity that works well with preservice practicum students.