Since the award’s establishment in 1994, KDP and the Association of Teacher Educators have named a very select few from around the United States as National Student Teachers of the Year. In March 2025, we renamed the award the Dr. Marilyn Nicholas National Student Teacher of the Year award.
Dr. Marilyn Nicholas is a Professor Emeritus of Instructional Leadership and Professional Development at Towson University in Maryland. As a champion of student teaching, she developed the first student teaching center there, integrating the method courses reading, language arts and social studies and student teaching. She is a member of both KDP and ATE and was part of the creation of the award. She passionately serves as chairperson on its review committee.
The award recognizes one student teacher/intern annually who has demonstrated the ability to plan and develop classroom management skills and instructional strategies that support all students; establish interpersonal relationships with students, parents, faculty, and staff; and reflect powerfully on their student teaching experience. KDP and ATE are honored to partner for this prestigious award in offering national recognition, at least one speaking engagement, and a $2,000 award to our student teacher recipient.
To be eligible for this award, at the time of application, the applicant must:
- be an undergraduate student, post-baccalaureate, or graduate student enrolled in a teacher education program (leading to teacher certification) at an accredited institution of higher education and have completed at least 12 credit hours in that institution’s teacher education program;
- have an overall grade-point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale;
- be or have completed student teaching/interning full time in a curricular area for which they are eligible for certification in a PK–12 classroom in an accredited public or private school where they spend the majority of the day in direct instructional contact with students;
- be committed to teaching as a full-time career;
- seek nomination or recommendation from their supervising teacher, university supervisor, or director of field experiences; and
- adhere to the requirements as outlined in the application materials.