Nominations are now open for the 2021 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Administered by the National Science Foundation for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the award is the nation’s highest honor for mathematics, science, technology, and engineering teachers. 

The award recognizes teachers that have both deep content knowledge in their respective subjects and the ability to motivate and enable students to be successful in those areas. Since the program’s inception in 1983, more than 5,000 teachers have been recognized for their contributions in the classroom and to their profession.

In order to be eligible to win the award, teachers must have at least five years of full-time employment as a K-12 teacher in one of the recognized subjects (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and/or computer science) prior to the 2020-2021 academic school year. This year the award is open to educators serving grades 7-12 in a public, charter, or private school.

A teacher may be nominated for the award by others or may nominate themselves. The deadline for nominations is March 1, 2021 and the application deadline is April 1, 2021. The nomination is available at https://www.paemst.org.

Winners will receive a certificate signed by the President of the United States and a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation.  

Elementary teachers receive the award in even-numbered years and secondary teachers receive the award in odd-numbered years.