BURBANK, Calif. (August 16, 2004) – Disney invites you to nominate a K-12 teacher who has made a significant impact on students and learning for the 2005 DisneyHand Teacher Awards.
The DisneyHand Teacher Awards honors educators who are uniquely creative and inspiring. The honorees and overall winners will be selected by a prestigious national committee of educators and education associations. Nominations are submitted by current and former students, parents, administrators, colleagues and members of the community.
Nominations will be accepted now through Oct. 15, 2004, and may be submitted by calling 1-877-ATA-TEACH (1-877-282-8322) or by logging on to www.disneyhand.com. Those selected from the submitted applications as official honorees will each receive a monetary gift, a trip to one of the Disney theme parks including VIP parties and a parade, as well as professional development workshops focused on innovative teaching and learning through leadership development. Three honorees will receive the distinction of being named a DisneyHand Teacher Awards Outstanding Teacher, and one will ultimately be named the DisneyHand Teacher Awards 2005 Teacher of the Year.
Over the past 15 years, Disney has honored more than 500 teachers and contributed more than 100 million dollars to teachers and schools — making it one of the most significant commitments of financial and corporate resources to teachers and learning of any company in America.
“The DisneyHand Teacher Awards recognizes deserving teachers for the excellence they have displayed in the classroom. Educators are honored for their creativity, inspiration and dedication to their students’ success,” said Jody Dreyer, senior vice president, Disney Worldwide Outreach.
DisneyHand is sending nomination forms to every school in the nation. Along with the documents, DisneyHand will include a book, Disney Looking at Paintings – An Introduction to Fine Art for Young People, by Erika Langmuir and Ruth Thompson from Boston-based Bunker Hill Publishing. The gift is part of DisneyHand’s commitment to imagination and learning as exemplified by the DisneyHand Teacher Awards, and can be a useful tool to help engage young people in creative ways of looking at the world around them.
The recently named 2004 DisneyHand Teacher Awards Teacher of the Year is Jeffrey Thompson, a Kindergarten teacher at Evergreen Elementary school on the Fort Lewis military post in Fort Lewis, Wash. Jeffrey was also honored as an Outstanding Elementary School teacher from among his peers. Jeffrey received the two distinctions from more than 150,000 nominees received from across the country last year.
DisneyHand Teacher Awards is part of The Walt Disney Company’s commitment to worldwide outreach. DisneyHand is dedicated to making the dreams of families and children a reality through public service initiatives, community outreach and volunteerism in areas of learning, compassion, the arts and the environment. For more information on Disney’s corporate public service efforts, please visit our Web site at www.disneyhand.com.