Oregon Department of Education now taking nominations for 2025-26 Oregon Teacher of the Year

Published 3:24 pm Thursday, January 9, 2025

Nominations for the 2025-26 Oregon Teacher of the Year are open now through Thursday, Feb. 6.

Every year, students, parents, administrators and neighbors nominate teachers in their communities for statewide recognition.

“The Oregon Teacher of the Year serves as the face and voice of educators across the state. As a representative of the profession, this teacher leader will engage and inspire other teachers and community leaders,” ODE said in a press release.

Each Regional Teacher of the Year is awarded $1,000 and recognized in September. From those finalists, the Oregon Teacher of the Year is selected. The winner receives $10,000 and travels across the state to represent the teaching profession to community members and fellow educators.

The 2024-25 Oregon Teacher of the Year is Bryan Butcher, Jr., who teaches math at Beaumont Middle School in northeast Portland.

“Being selected as Oregon Teacher of the Year has truly been an honor for me, my family, and my community. It has felt like an award we’ve all won,” said Butcher Jr., in the press release. “The chance to make an impact is why I began teaching. And with this new honor, I have the chance to spread that impact in ways I could not have imagined. I’m stoked for the future!”

Regional teachers of the year are selected from all 19 of Oregon’s Educational Service Districts. Teacher candidates should be experts in their field, collaborators, connected to their classrooms, community leaders, communicators and mentors who guide “students of all backgrounds and abilities to achieve excellence.”

If this sounds like a teacher you know, nominate them at https://oregonteacheroftheyear.org/nominate/.