The Ventura County Office of Education (VCOE) invites school districts, charter schools, professional organizations, and private schools countywide to participate in the California Teachers of the Year Program. This program highlights educational innovation, student learning, and the rewards of teaching. Further, the program attracts public attention to the positive aspects of our educational system.

In 1972, California began recognizing outstanding teachers. Thirty-two years later, this endeavor provides an arena for fostering the highly qualified teacher standard emphasized in the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The program results in the annual selection of five teachers statewide who reflect the diversity of our teachers and students. The process pays tribute to California's teaching force, the complexity of challenges that confront our schools, and the need to promote collaboration and teamwork to meet those challenges. While finding "the five best" teachers out of 300,000-plus may be next to impossible, the program strives to find five "of the best to represent the best."

Please help to identify and honor our county's exemplary and highly qualified teacher who will represent our students and schools at the state Teacher of the Year program.

The overall purpose of the California Teachers of the Year Program is to pay tribute to the tireless efforts of our state's outstanding teachers. In doing so, the program brings deserved recognition to the 300,000 California members of the teaching profession.

The program's goals are to:

• Identify and honor an exemplary and highly qualified teacher in Ventura County.
• Select one teacher to serve as Ventura County’s Teacher of the Year for 2008 who will effectively represent Ventura County at the state's Teacher of the Year Program.
• Focus public attention on the positive accomplishments of Ventura County teachers and students.

A California Teacher of the Year serves as an ambassador of the profession. As such, the teacher articulates the many ways that teachers contribute to the profession. He or she conveys, both orally and in writing, in person and through various media, ideas on current issues and challenges that confront the profession. The teacher responds meaningfully, thoughtfully, and concisely to concerns raised in public forums - concerns that range from specific (such as how to resolve a playground argument) to general statewide impact (such as credentialing requirements). The teacher may be asked to explain a specific program, instructional strategy, or activity that he or she has developed; how those efforts benefited students; and how the experiences might help other schools and teachers. A California Teacher of the Year may also be asked to conduct demonstration lessons or contribute to teacher recruitment efforts.

In past years, teachers have been called away from their classrooms for as many as 30 instructional days over a period of three to five years, and several days in following years. The teacher selected as the candidate to the National Teacher of the Year Program will attend a meeting in Dallas in January. The teacher's district will send him or her to a special ceremony in Washington, D.C. in the spring. If selected as National Teacher of the Year, the candidate would be required to be out of the classroom for a year of service following the award year in order to meet a rigorous schedule consisting of interviews, site visits, speeches, and other presentations around the nation. As noted on the application, the employer of each applicant selected is responsible for any costs associated with necessary release time without adversely affecting the applicant's salary or benefits.

Eligibility Criteria:

Eligibility to the Ventura County Teacher of the Year Program is limited to candidates who have been submitted to the Ventura County Office of Education by a school district, charter school, private school, or professional organization and that meet any of the following criteria:

· Fully credentialed teachers in public or private schools who teach any of pre-kindergarten through grade twelve.

· Library media teachers who collaboratively plan and teach with classroom teachers.

· Teachers of adults who provide instruction in the same curriculum as those who teach in elementary or secondary grades.

· Instructors who have some administrative responsibilities for whom teaching is the applicant's primary responsibility.