Every year, the Margaret Voss Howard Teacher Recognition Award honors one Marblehead teacher and one Salem teacher “as a representative of all the excellent, dedicated teachers in the community who make a difference to children every day.”
This award is named after Dr. Margaret Voss Howard, who often goes by Peg. She was an educator in both the Marblehead and Salem school districts during her career, which is why this award honors an educator from each school system.
Howard was a teacher and administrator in Marblehead Public Schools from 1973-2005, principal of Saltonstall Elementary School from 2005-2009, and a Salem School Committee member for eight years.
“I had connections with both communities, and what I really wanted to do when I retired was acknowledge teachers because I just don’t see enough people realizing how much teachers do and how important they are, and I just had such admiration for my colleagues,” Howard said.
She continued, “As a retirement gift, I asked people to contribute to a fund that would create a teacher award, and then my family invested a chunk of money with Essex County Community Foundation so we’d have that for a number of years.”
This year, the cash award for the 15th annual Howard Teacher Award has been doubled from $500 to $1,000. Anyone from fellow educators to parents and students to community members can nominate Marblehead and Salem teachers for this recognition.
The selection criteria for the award is as follows:
- A specific, creative project that inspired students to perform and achieve and/or contributed positively to school culture, climate or community
- An inspirational influence on a particular child or group of children that made a difference in their progress and achievement
- An innovative practice that led to positive growth in a school or the district or beyond
- A long, distinctive, influential career in which the teacher positively impacted many children
- Leadership among colleagues that solved problems or led to educational improvements
- Other outstanding contributions to the profession described in the nomination letter
According to Howard, honorees can range from preschool teachers up through elementary, middle and high school teachers in a variety of subjects from music to science.
To nominate a beloved teacher, send a nomination letter with the accompanying nomination form to howardteacheraward@yahoo.com by April 17. Nominations should be kept confidential from the person who has been nominated. That email address can also be used to ask for more information on how to submit a nomination.
