National Education Teacher Award Chairman's Manual & Entry Form

District Participation Report

Teacher's Award Judging Score Sheet

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The VFW annually recognizes the nation’s top certified/licensed elementary, junior high and high school teachers who teach and promote America’s history, traditions and citizenship education effectively.

CRITERIA:  All current certified/licensed teachers in grades K-12 are eligible. Previous national VFW winners are ineligible. Nominations can be submitted by themselves, fellow teachers, supervisors, family members or other interested individuals.

HOW TO SUBMIT:  Fill out the nomination form. In addition, we recommend, on a separate piece of paper, but not mandatory, describe why you feel your nominee should be selected. Describe the teacher's innovative teaching and resource development methods, as well as his or her dedication to education. Please submit your completed nomination form signed, along with the recommended letter, to your local VFW Post.

All Post-level nominees should provide a one-page resume at a minimum,  or up to five pages, to include the resume, as a maximum of documentation of their teaching experience (for example: nomination letter, references, news articles, etc.) and a head-and-shoulder photo of themselves in JPG format. A colored high resolution photo is recommended.

Post Chairmen will review each submission for accuracy, supervise judging,  and email  the winning nomination to the District Chairman with the Post Teacher Entry form with attachments. 

District Chairmen will review each submission for accuracy, supervise judging,  and email the winning nomination to the Dept Chairman with the Post Teacher Entry form with attachments. 
and the District Participation form. 

DEADLINES: The following deadlines shall be adhered to:

• November 1, 2025 – Submissions due to Post Chairperson 
• November 15, 2025 – Post winners submitted to District Chairperson 
• January 1, 2026 – District winners submitted to Department 
• February 1, 2026 – Department winners submitted to National

ALL-AMERICAN REQUIREMENTS:  TBD

ALL-STATE REQUIREMENTS:  Post must submit one candidate to District for judging, make a report via the Department reporting system, and the District Chairperson must annotate the Post’s participation on the District participation report.

District must submit one candidate to Department for judging.

AWARDS:  Department awards are as follows:

• Category K-5 - First place winner will receive the National Gold Medal Award certificate along with a $500.00 monetary award.
• Category 6-8 - First place winner will receive the National Gold Medal Award certificate along with a $500.00 monetary award.
• Category 9-12 - First place winner will receive the National Gold Medal Award certificate along with a $500.00 monetary award.