Nominations sought for excellent teachers

December 16, 2004

Nominations are currently being sought for the 2005 Bishop Lawrence D. Soens Excellence in Education Awards.

Kevin Vickery, superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Sioux City, said, "This should be a teacher that truly exemplifies living and 

Criteria for Excellence in Education Teacher Award Anyone who has experienced an excellent classroom teacher may nominate the teacher for the award. That is, a parent, a pastor, a student, a colleague, an administrator or a parishioner may nominate a teacher who has not received a previous award and who meets the following qualifications. The nominee for the Bishop Lawrence D. Soens Excellence in Education Teacher Award must meet the following qualifications: a. The teacher must be currently teaching (including October 2005) in the diocese for five consecutive years. b. A teacher with a clear, integrated philosophy of Catholic education. c. A teacher held in high regard by peers, students, and/or parents. Nominations must be received in the Office of Education by Jan. 31, 2005. After being informed of the nomination, the teacher must submit a completed application form to the Superintendent of Schools, Office of Education, 1821 Jackson St., PO Box 3379, Sioux City, IA 51102-3379 by Feb. 28, 2005.

teaching the Gospel values on a day-to-day basis. We are looking for people that are able to use the Gospel values in all aspects of their teaching and pass it on to their students and the parents."

Each year five teachers from Catholic schools in the diocese are recognized with this $1,000 monetary award. The formal presentation comes at the Bishop's Dinner for Catholic Education that is held each fall.

"This award offers an opportunity to realize the absolute excellence that we have in all of our Catholic schools," said Vickery. "We realize that we have many quality teachers, but this is one way to publicly acknowledge the characteristics of an exemplary Catholic school teacher."

Anyone who has experienced an excellent teacher who meets the selected qualifications may submit a nomination. Those making nominations may include a parent, pastor, student, colleague, administrator or parishioner.

Vickery pointed out that even if a teacher has been nominated in the past, they can certainly be re-nominated as some past recipients of the award had been nominated two, even three years in a row before being selected. This, he added, is due to the usually nice response to the nomination process.

"If there is a flaw to the program, it's that we can only select five teachers each year. We have so many more teachers that meet the criteria," he said. "It can be very difficult for the selection committee to narrow it down."

The superintendent of Catholic schools would like as many qualifying teachers to be nominated as possible. It is his belief that even if the teacher is not a recipient of the award, they are honored and affirmed by the nomination itself - knowing that someone recognized the uniqueness that they bring to the teaching ministry.

Nominations can be secured from all parish and school offices. Nominations must be received by Jan. 31. (See criteria in sidebar box.)

Once nominated, the teacher must submit a completed application form and essay relating to their philosophy of Catholic education. The application and essay should be submitted to the Office of Education by Feb. 28.

After the teacher applications are turned in, a committee made up of educators reviews them.

"All of the essays are read blindly, so there are no names or schools attached to is," noted Vickery.

The essays are read and scored by the same pre-determined criteria and recorded on a prepared form.

After verification that the award winners are still employed in a Catholic school in the diocese, a letter will notify them in early September. The recipients will be formally recognized at the 9th Annual Bishop's Dinner for Catholic Education that is slated for Oct. 23.