National Teacher of the Year

The program began in 1952, as a project by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), and aims to reward excellence in teaching.

[2] The profiles of the winners from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands and the Department of Defense Education Activity are submitted to a selection committee made up of representatives from each of the major education organizations.

The President of the United States traditionally presents the award in the White House Rose Garden.

[5] Several state winners in the 2020s reported harassment, including death threats, for having pro-LGBT views or being gay.

Others look for candidates that support certain political positions, such as the Arkansas education reform law that limited classroom discussion of critical race theory and LGBT people, or anti-racism in Massachusetts.