Why Educator Collaboration Deserves Recognition

Applications are open for NCLD’s 2026 Everyday Champion Awards, which recognize educators who excel in building strong relationships with students and families and help students with learning disabilities thrive.

Each year, the Everyday Champion Awards celebrate K-12 professionals who make a meaningful difference in the lives of students with learning disabilities. These educators personalize learning, support student well-being, celebrate neurodiversity, create inclusive spaces, believe in every student’s potential, and engage students in creative ways.

This year, NCLD is proud to introduce a new award category: the Educator Team Award.

The new category recognizes a pair or small group of educators who work together in a K-12 setting to support one or more students with learning disabilities. It is an important addition because helping students thrive often requires strong collaboration. While individual educators can have a lasting impact, students also benefit when educators share expertise, coordinate support, and work together to create learning environments where students feel understood and supported.

That idea is reflected in NCLD’s latest State of Learning Disabilities report, which includes insights from general and special educators across the country. The report found that educator collaboration is an essential component of a schoolwide framework for supporting teachers of students with learning disabilities.

“Our research made clear that educator collaboration is foundational to supporting students with LD, because teachers are not siloed islands,” said Saashya Rodrigo, NCLD’s Principal Investigator and Associate Director of Research & Innovation. “Schools thrive as ecosystems, especially when collaboration is intentionally embedded in practice. When schools prioritize shared expertise, teacher support becomes student support.”

For students with learning disabilities, collaboration can take many forms. It may look like general and special educators planning together, teachers working with families to better understand a student’s needs, or a team of educators coordinating supports. Therefore, a student experiences consistency throughout the school day.

The State of Learning Disabilities report also shows that many educators value this kind of collaboration. Nearly three-fourths of general educators reported that their special education colleagues valued their expertise, and vice versa. Furthermore, 61% of special educators reported that general educators were open to collaboration, with 73% of general educators reporting that their special education colleagues were open to collaboration.

At the same time, educators also identified real barriers. Less than half reported having enough time to collaborate, even when they had support and resources. These findings point to an important reality: collaboration matters, but it does not happen automatically. Educators need time, support, and school environments that enable meaningful teamwork.

The decision to add the new Educator Team Award reflects these insghts. By recognizing teams that consistently work together to center students with learning disabilities, NCLD hopes to spotlight effective educator collaboration and encourage schools to invest in teaching models that make this work possible. These teams may not always be visible outside their school communities, but their everyday impact can last a lifetime for the students they serve.

The Everyday Champion Awards have always been about honoring educators who build strong relationships with students and families. The addition of the Educator Team Award expands that recognition to the collaborative work happening every day in schools to help students learn, grow, and succeed.

Applications for the 2026 Everyday Champion Awards are open through June 30, 2026. This year, NCLD will award $5,000 in each of the following categories:

K-5 Educator Award

6-12 Educator Award

Educator Team Award

If you know a K-12 educator or educator team making a positive impact for students with learning disabilities, we encourage you to submit a nomination.