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Teacher of the Year Application and Selection Process

Application Process

The South Carolina Teacher of the Year application process mirrors that of the National Teacher of the Year program. The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) provides guidelines that districts must follow when submitting a nominee to the state program.

Steps in the Application Process

  1. By mid-October, districts submit the name of their District Teacher of the Year (DTOY) to the state’s program coordinator.
  2. The State Teacher of the Year (STOY) application is shared with all DTOY and district coordinators for preparation purposes ahead of submission. Submissions are accepted from mid- November to early January.
  3. The selection process begins. Selection of the STOY is the combined responsibility of three groups: the Screening Committee, the Finalists Committee, and the Selection Committee .
  4. The STOY and the four Honor Roll teachers are selected.
  5. The STOY, Honor Roll teachers, and all DTOY are honored at a celebratory event in Columbia in the spring. Pursuant to Section 59-26-90 of the SC Code of Laws, the STOY receives a $25,000 award, each Honor Roll teacher receives $10,000, and all other DTOY receive a $1,000 award. Each honoree also receives citations and appropriate commendations from the State Superintendent of Education and State Board of Education.
  6. The State Superintendent of Education enters the name of the STOY in the National Program in the fall. The Teacher of the Year coordinator facilitates the STOY application to the national title and organizes the STOY participation in all the national events.

Explanation of the Teacher of the Year Program Selection Process

Selection of the State Teacher of the Year is the combined responsibility of three groups: the Screening Committee, the Finalists Committee, and the Selection Committee. 

Phase One: The Initial Screening

The Screening Committee is composed of four sets of judges, and each group includes teachers, administrators, higher education representatives, SC business representatives, community leaders and SCDE staff members. Each set of judges reviews and scores up to twenty-one applications. Applications are identified only by numbers; all references to the applicant’s name, gender, ethnicity, and school district are redacted - to the extent that all meaning is preserved - prior to distribution to the judges. Each applicant may earn a 100-point maximum using the point system described below. After totals from all judges in each set are tallied, the Teacher of the Year coordinator will send copies of the twenty-five highest scoring applications to members of the Finalists Committee.

Phase Two: Finalists Selection

The Finalists Committee is composed of at least five judges from the following or related categories:

  • Former State Teacher of the Year – who served at least four years prior to date of judging

  • School or district leader representative

  • Civic representative

  • Business representative
     
  • State Board of Education Member

Using the same scoring system employed in Phase One, members of the Finalists Committee review and rate each application to select the five finalists for STOY. Applications are identified only by numbers; all references to the applicant’s name, gender, ethnicity, and school district are redacted - to the extent that all meaning is preserved - prior to distribution to the judges. When totals are tallied, the State Superintendent of Education notifies the five candidates with the highest scores of their selection as finalists.

Application Point System

  1. Content Lesson or Unit (20 points)
  2. School Culture (20 points)
  3. Community Involvement (20 points)
  4. Public Education Issue (20 points)
  5. State Teacher of the Year (20 points)

In the case of a tie between candidates, tiebreaker categories (in order or importance) are 1.Content Lesson or Unit, 2. School Culture, and 3. Public Education Issue.

Phase Three: Classroom Videotaping & Interview Day

The Selection Committee is composed of at least seven judges from the following or related categories:

  • Former State Teacher of the Year – who served at least four years prior to date of judging

  • Former Honor Roll teacher – who served at least four years prior to date of judging

  • College Student/Pre-Service Teacher Representative

  • School or district leader representative

  • Civic representative

  • Business representative

  • Higher education representative

The five finalists participate in a two-step process as part of the final phase: a videotaping session in each of their classrooms by the SCDE Office of Communications and an interview conducted by the members of the Selection Committee.

The SCDE contacts the finalists to arrange a classroom video recording session. Each teacher selects an unedited and uninterrupted classroom segment (additional segments are recorded and played during the celebration event), which is shown to the Selection Committee members to be scored.  

Interview Day

Application points do not carry over; points begin at zero. A sample description of the day follows:

A) Presentation – 30 Points

Each of the five candidates has three to five minutes to respond to a question, provided in advance pertaining to current public education events.

B) Questions related to classroom video segment – 20 Points

The classroom video segment is played. Judges have ten minutes to ask questions regarding the video and score it.

C) Public Education Issue Question – 20 Points

Each finalist is asked a question based on the individual’s response to the Public Education Issue prompt in the written application.

D) Final Question & Answer Session – 25 Points

Finalists answer three questions formulated by the Office of Communications.
 
After the interviews conclude, the Teacher of the Year coordinator collects the score sheets and tallies the points. The State Superintendent of Education reveals the identity of the next STOY during the evening of the Teacher of the Year gala.