Nominations can be made by: 

• Current or former students
• Parents and/or caregivers of students
• Fellow teachers or coworkers
• Family members 
• Community member
• School administrator 

Self-nominations are welcome!

The nomination form includes multiple-choice questions and 3 essay questions. Please allow 20-30 minutes to complete it.

This nomination platform uses tools to detect AI use in essay responses.

• AI tools can be helpful for organizing ideas or editing, and are often useful when learning a language. AI tools can also be a valuable form of assistive technology.
• AI tools may be used for idea generation and light editing assistance, but should not be used to entirely replace your own writing.
• NCLD values your unique ideas, thoughts, and stories more than perfect spelling or grammar.
• If your essays are detected for plagiarism or are found to be mostly written by AI, this may negatively impact your application during the review process.

Nominations open April 1, 2026.

K-5 Educator Award 

This award will recognize one educator working with Kindergarten through 5th grade students. 

Criteria

• General education teacher or special education teacher. 
• Must currently work in a K-5  public school, charter school, private school, or specialized learning environment. 
• The nomination must include specific examples of how this educator has built relationships with and supported students with LD and/or ADHD. 
• Has not, to the best of their knowledge, received a similar national award within the past 18 months. 

Award amount: $5,000

6-12 Educator Award 

This award will recognize one educator working with middle or high school students. 

Criteria

• General education teacher or special education teacher. 
• Must currently work in a 6-12  public, charter, private, or specialized learning environment. 
• The nomination must include specific examples of how this educator has built relationships with and supported students with LD and/or ADHD. 
• Has not, to the best of their knowledge, received a similar national award within the past 18 months. 

Award amount: $5,000

Educator Team Award

This award will recognize one Educator Team working with students in K-12 settings.

For the purposes of this award, a team is defined as a pair or small group of education professionals who are consistently working together to support 1 or more students with learning disabilities.

Examples include:

• Co-teaching classrooms
• Special educator and general educator
• Educator and paraprofessional
• General educator, special educator, and paraprofessional

Criteria

• All team members must be currently working in a K-12 public school, charter school, private school, or specialized learning environment.
• The nomination must include specific examples of how this individual has built relationships with and supported students with LD and/or ADHD. 
• The “team” must include a minimum of 2 education professionals that work together on a daily basis to support students with learning disabilities.
• The winning team can be any size, but the prize amount will not increase based on the number of team members.
• Has not, to the best of their knowledge, received a similar national award within the past 18 months.

Award amount: $5,000

Questions

Questions about criteria and award categories may be directed to info@ncld.org.

For technical support questions, please use the help beacon in the bottom right corner or reach out to help@mykaleidoscope.com.

2026 Application Timeline

April 1: Application opens

June 30: Online application closes. Only complete applications will be considered.

August 15: NCLD will notify finalists 

September 15: Finalist submissions are due

October 1: The award recipients will be notified 

Submit your nomination today!