Random House Seeks Best Teachers Of Reading In The U.S.

Reading takes practice – and teachers play an important role in this. Now Random House has decided to introduce an award to honor the contribution teachers make to their students’ love of reading. The Random House Foundation presents the first Random House Teacher Awards, which will recognize the nation’s most dynamic and resourceful teachers who use their creativity to inspire and successfully instill a love of reading in students. The winners will be awarded grants to help make their innovative reading programs possible: first, second and third prizes are US$10,000, US$5,000 and US$2,500 grants respectively. The competition is open to full- and part-time teachers in public schools across the United States.

The awards will be presented by Crown author Jonathan Kozol (whose latest book “Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-Five Years Among the Poorest Children in America” is due out this month) on November 16 at the National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kozol, a nonfiction author, educator and activist, has written a number of books on education in the U.S. He is a recipient of the National Book Award and the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award among others. All his life, Kozol has championed social justice, especially with regard to official education – so Random House couldn't have picked a better person to present the awards.

The application submission deadline for the first Random House Teacher Awards is Saturday, September 1, 2012. In addition to the prize monies, book donations will be made to the winners and runners-up. The winners will be announced on October 15 following a careful selection process carried out by the Random House Foundation.

All teachers who use innovative ideas and programs to infect their students with their own passion for reading – and whose methods have produced measurable success – are urged to apply. They should also be willing to take risks and take unconventional approaches in the books they choose to share with their students. And they should successfully establish and encourage reading communities among their students.