Celebrating Great Tech Teachers in Oregon and SW Washington

Teacher of the Year Award: We encourage you to nominate a teacher for the TechStart Teacher of the Year award.

TechStart will be honoring three Oregon tech teachers with Technology Teacher of the Year Awards, to be presented in May 2025 at the 41st Annual Oregon Technology Awards,

  • K-8 Technology Teacher of the Year

  • High School Technology Teacher of the Year

  • Technology Teacher Rising Star – Any Grade Level (K-12)

Get involved today by nominating a tech teacher (including yourself), volunteering to judge, or contributing to the program.

Please help recognize great K-12 tech teachers who work in a private or public school in Oregon or SW Washington. If you’re a teacher, administrator, parent, or community member who knows a tech teacher who deserves recognition, please nominate them.

What makes a TechStart Technology Teacher of the Year?

TechStart applauds all technology teachers. For our awards, we will be recognizing teachers who:

  • Make a sustained, positive impact in the classroom, school, and district

  • Work to broaden technology learning among underserved and underrepresented students, including Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), rural, and marginalized gender students

  • Demonstrate tech education leadership and engagement beyond the classroom

  • Use innovative and successful teaching strategies

Any Oregon or SW Washington teacher or others working to support computer science education for K-12 students and schools—including licensed teachers, administrators, classroom assistants, tech staff, community volunteers, mentors, and others—is eligible to be a Technology Teacher of the Year.

Award winners receive recognition as TechStart Technology Teacher of the Year and a $1,000 stipend for their classroom to spend on tech education materials, including hardware, software, services, or curriculum.

For the 2025 Technology Teacher awards, TechStart has a two-step nomination process. There is a short form for teachers and administrators to nominate a Teacher of the Year candidate. Once the candidate is nominated, TechStart has a TechStart Teacher of the Year Application form to be completed to gather information about the candidate. Here is the awards schedule:

2025 NOMINATION AND AWARD SCHEDULE

  • March 17: Close nominations for teachers

  • April 8: Close application process for teachers to recommend students and for teachers to apply after being nominated

  • April 17: Select and notify winners and invite them to the TAO awards

  • May 5: Present awards at the TAO Tech Awards event

TechStart also honors technology students. Learn more about our Technology Student of the Year Awards.