Delegates at the 2019 SDEA Representative Assembly passed New Business Item 4, which created an award to recognize outstanding educators in their first five years. The Early Career Educator (ECE) Award will recognize an ECE who is a SDEA member and who has excelled in differentiating instruction, developed engaging lessons, successfully built relationships with their students, and actively engaged in union activities.
An individual member or a local may nominate an early career educator for this award. Each governance unit may select an Early Career Educator of the Year from nominations submitted in their unit. All the unit winners will be candidates for the statewide award, which will be announced at the 2021 Representative Assembly in Pierre.
Nominations of outstanding ECE are due to the SDEA office no later than December 1. SDEA will send all nominees a questionnaire to complete and return by December 15. All submissions must be done electronically. Only nominees who have completed the questionnaire by the deadline will be sent to the units for consideration.
Each governance unit will have until February 25 to select unit winners and send those names to the SDEA President. For more information, contact Loren.Paul@sdea.org.