Bermuda with the launch of a National Teacher of the Year competition.

Pupils, parents, school staff and members of the community are being invited to nominate teachers who they think should receive a special accolade for their contribution.

Yesterday, The Bermuda College Centre for Education launched the contest and said it hoped it would provide some reward and motivation for hard working staff.

Dr. Gina Tucker, director of the centre, said: "The college wants to recognise teachers who are good role models and who raise the bar for teaching standards.

"Those teachers who have created an open, warm classroom environment and who have created a community of students who achieve success within their classroom would be excellent candidates for this programme.

"The college is seeking outstanding educators who demonstrate professionalism, leadership and outstanding commitment to students and the teaching profession.'' The main sponsor for the competition is TeleBermuda International Limited, but it is hoped that many other companies in the private sector will follow its lead and agree to support the contest.

Dr. Tucker said all full-time public school teachers, including counsellors and librarians, were eligible for nomination and anybody can nominate a candidate. People can even nominate themselves.

The closing date for entries is Friday, April 14. People who nominate must write saying why they think the teacher deserves the prestigious accolade.

All nominees entered will then be asked by the judging panel to confirm that they are happy to take part and they, themselves, will be asked to write why they think they should win.

A shortlist will then be drawn up and the winner announced in June.

The person selected as the winner will receive several special awards, including the opportunity to attend the next meeting of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, which is one of the most highly recognised conferences for professional educators.

There will also be a financial award.

This year the competition is not open to schools in the private sector, but the organisers are looking at the possibility of branching it out into that field at a later date. They said the two categories were very different, so should be kept separate.

President of Bermuda College, George Cook, said he was delighted at the launch of the competition.

He added: "I do think this is something very important for the college to be engaged in. We can play a role in helping to improve the quality of instruction in the school system by something such as this.'' An independent panel of educators and community leaders, including a student from the college, will participate in the selection process. Nomination forms are available at the college and at schools across the Island.

AWARDS AWD