The South Dakota Department of Education has taken over facilitating the Regional Teacher of the Year program. The state is divided into five regions, and one winner will be chosen from each.

Each South Dakota school district that wishes to participate needs to submit the name of its District Teacher of the Year to Sherry Dickerson, with the Department of Education, by March 15 in order for the nominee to be considered for the Region TOY program. The Department of Education will contact District Teachers of the Year directly to apply for the regional award.

Districts may still determine their own methods for selecting district winners, but nomination forms should be made available to teachers, parents, students, school support professionals and the general public through multiple avenues and formats. A sample nomination form can be found on the South Dakota Teacher of the Year webpage.

Professional development opportunity for Region TOYs
This year the department will be able to offer the five Regional Teachers of the Year the opportunity to attend the NNSTOY (National Network of State Teachers of the Year) Conference held in Las Vegas in July. One of these five regional finalists will become South Dakota’s 2019 Teacher of the Year.

For more information about the South Dakota Teacher of the Year selection process, including guidelines and timeline for selection, and regional and state applications, visit the South Dakota Teacher of the Year webpage. For further assistance, contact Sherry Dickerson at 605-773-2490 or Kathy Riedy at 605-773-8415 with the South Dakota Department of Education.