Awards
Excellence Awards
The K-ACTE Excellence Awards Program seeks to promote Career and Technical Education excellence by recognizing individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to their fields. These individuals exemplify the highest standards and have conducted activities to promote and expand career and technical education.
The State Awards Program is modeled on the ACTE Program.
State winners will be eligible to proceed to the regional and national competitions, with the exception of Kansas’s only awards: Young Teacher of the Year, Award of Merit, and Policymaker of the Year.
In Kansas, candidates for the Member Excellence Awards progress through four rounds of review:
- Affiliate Round: Candidates begin the application process by nominating themselves (or being nominated by a peer) for their affiliate award. Candidates must hold the appropriate position at the time of initial nomination (ex. be a secondary school CTE teacher if applying for the Teacher of the Year.) Deadlines vary for applications to the affiliates.
- State Round: Affiliate winners will have the opportunity to complete the state application process for their award. Candidates must hold the appropriate position at the time of initial nomination (ex. be a secondary school CTE teacher if applying for the Teacher of the Year.) Applications are due by the state deadline of June 1.
- Region Round: State winners move forward for consideration within their Regions. All state winners must have their applications uploaded to the ACTE Awards Portal and be ACTE members by the March 1 Region deadline (nonmembers are not eligible to receive Region or national awards). Region winners are selected by their Region awards committees and announced during their Region conferences.
- National Round: Region winners’ applications are forwarded to the final round of review via the Awards Portal by their Region committee chair. The national ACTE Awards Committee selects the national winners, which are announced at the ACTE Awards Banquet during ACTE’s CareerTech VISION.
More Information:
The K-ACTE Awards Program seeks to promote career and technical education excellence by recognizing individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to their fields. These individuals exemplify the highest standards and have conducted activities to promote and expand career and technical education.
The State Awards Program is modeled on the ACTE Program.
State winners will be eligible to proceed to the regional and national competitions, with the exception of Kansas’s only awards: Young Teacher of the Year, Award of Merit, and Policymaker of the Year.
Congratulations to the 2023 /2024 Honorees:
- Kimberly Clark; Carl Perkins Community Service Award; Kansas Association for Career and Technical Education
- Jake Rutledge; Teacher of the Year; Kansas Association for Career and Technical Education
- Anita DeWeese; Teacher Educator of the Year; Kansas Association for Career and Technical Education
- Jonathan Ulmer; Postsecondary Professional of the Year; Kansas Association for Career and Technical Education
- Zachary Callaghan; New Teacher of the Year; Kansas Association for Career and Technical Education
Award Categories
ACTE Teacher of the Year
Full-time classroom/laboratory CTE teachers at the middle or secondary school level
ACTE Postsecondary Teacher of the Year
Full-time classroom/laboratory CTE teachers/educators at the postsecondary level
Outstanding Career and Technical Educator
ACTE Administrator of the Year
Full-time classroom/laboratory CTE teachers (at the middle/secondary/postsecondary level) with 3-5 years’ experience
Outstanding New Career and Technical Teacher
ACTE Carl Perkins Outstanding Service Award
Individual ACTE members who have contributed to CTE’s positive impact on communities and the lives of individuals
ACTE Counseling & Career Development Professional Award
Full-time school counselors and guidance professionals
ACTE Lifetime Achievement Award*
Individual ACTE members whose dedicated contributions have been identified with the work and purposes of the association over an extended period of time
Applications
All nominations for awards must be submitted through the ACTE Awards Portal.
All awards are administered by the K-ACTE Awards Committee.
Deadline
The deadline is June 1st, 2025.
Questions
Contact the K-ACTE Office at: (785) 233-2690, or e-mail: melissaf@kearneyandassociates.com
