Hall STEM Teacher of the Year Program
Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced a new Massachusetts STEM Teacher of the Year initiative on October 18, 2012 at the Massachusetts STEM Summit. As part of honoring the teacher of the year, Kraft committed a $5,000 grant to the winner’s school for STEM-related uses. The goal of the program is to recognize and honor a Massachusetts STEM teacher making significant contributions to STEM education and to promote the impact that educator is making in the field.
The 2020-2021 Massachusetts STEM Teacher of Year recipient was Becky Colo from Longsjo Middle School.
The winning teacher is honored with tickets and pregame field passes at a Patriots home game and is invited to serve on the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council for one year.
To be eligible, a teacher must be a full-time, active, certified, K-12 classroom STEM teacher in a state-accredited Massachusetts public or private school. To be considered a teacher must:
- Spend the majority of the school day involved in direct instruction to students
- Be skilled in implementing effective teaching strategies
- Be able to explain personal teaching philosophy
- Be able to inspire students in STEM-related topics
- Show involvement and leadership in student-related extra-curricular activities
- Be respected by students, parents and co-workers
Nomination forms for the 2021-2022 Massachusetts STEM Teacher of the Year Award will be available in the fall. All nominated teachers will then receive an email requesting them to complete Phase 2 of the application process. Once submitted, the Massachusetts STEM Teacher of the Year Committee then reviews all of the nomination applications and selects five finalists to be interviewed in late-March/early- April. Once the interview process is complete, a winner is selected. In addition to the $5,000 awarded to the winning teacher, Raytheon Technologies has committed $1,000 to each of the other four finalists. The winner is presented with the award at the annual STEM Summit, which is expected to be held in the spring at a date to be determined.