As a part of our annual Provider Appreciation activities each May, we celebrate you with our “Early Childhood Educator of the Year” campaign.  This initiative brings awareness and shines the spotlight on those who consistently go over and above to deliver quality care to young children.  This event provides the ECE community with a way to recognize a family child care educator and a center-based educator to help create awareness for the profession.

Who can nominate? Educators can nominate themselves or be nominated by someone else (colleague, peer, supervisor, former or currently family member, community member)

Who can be nominated? Family child care (FCC) or center-based educators who work a minimum of thirty (30) hours per week and have been in the field of education for at least six (6) months.

When can I submit a nomination? Nominations open on Monday, April 3rd and close on Saturday, April 15th.

• A committee comprised of various Delaware organizations will use a rubric to review all nominee submissions
• Identifying information will be removed from nominee submissions to ensure an objective review and selection process
• Five (5) FCC Educator of the Year nominees and five (5) Classroom Educator of the Year nominees will be selected.
• Individual nominees will be personally contacted before names are publicly announced
• Each of the ten (10) finalists will receive a yard sign to place in front of their program to announce their nomination and encourage voting.

• Voting will be open from Monday, May 1st through Sunday, May 7th.
• One Classroom Educator and One Family Child Care Educator will win Educator of the Year.
• Individual winners will be personally notified before public announcement of Educator of the Year is made

• A framed certificate
• banner
• yard sign
• an invitation to be a guest on the DIEEC podcast X, WHY, Z: Reflections from Early Childhood Professionals
• a one-year deaeyc membership sponsored by deaeyc
• $100 Amazon gift card