rutherfordcis.org - Tanner Award

Nominations for the Tanner Awards for Excellence in Teaching will be accepted until mid-March. This award was established by the Tanner Foundation to recognize outstanding teaching. Only teachers currently working in Rutherford County public schools may be nominated. Nominations may be submitted by current or former students, parents, colleagues, and the general public. Members of the Board of Directors of Communities In Schools of Rutherford County will select the award winner from the submitted nominations.

There will be a first and second place award recipient of The Tanner Award for Excellence in Teaching.

The first place recipient will receive $1,000 and the second place will receive $500; the money is to be used to be used in their classrooms. The finalist will be honored at a special ceremony at a Communities In Schools luncheon in mid-May.

To obtain a nomination form please email execdir@RutherfordCIS.org or call Charlotte Epley 828-288-0228. Nomination forms should be mailed and post marked by the last day of March to:

Communities In Schools of Rutherford County
PO Box 2134
Rutherfordton, NC 28139

Nominations may be e-mailed to execdir@rutherfordcis.org. E-mail nominations should include all information requested by the nomination form, and should list "Tanner Award Nomination" in the subject line.

The Tanner Award is not a "teacher of the year" award. It is intended to recognize and reward demonstrated excellence in a teaching career.

In preparing selection criteria, the Tanner Foundation noted that “good teaching is an art, not a science,” and set forth six “Characteristics of a Good Teacher” to be considered when nominating a teacher for the award. A good teacher should:

Have a mastery of subject matter.
Have good communications skills.
Be approachable.
Provide variety and innovative approaches to learning.
Create an atmosphere which makes students want to learn.
Create an atmosphere which engenders good character in each student.

The award is based on the Tanner Awards at UNC-Chapel Hill, begun by K. S. Tanner of Rutherford County, which provide a stipend to undergraduate professors “for good teaching – and only for good teaching.” For a list of previous Tanner Award winners, click here.

The CISRC Executive Committee serves as the selection committee for the Tanner Award. The Tanner Award program is administered by Communities In Schools of Rutherford County, an affiliate of Communities In Schools of North Carolina.