Deadline is April 15 for nominations for the 2016 North Kitsap Teacher of the Year Award, formerly the Rangvald Kvelstad Teacher of the Year Award.

Nomination forms are available at chamber of commerce offices, grocery stores, and public and private schools within the North Kitsap School District boundaries. They are also available online on the North Kitsap Teacher of the Year Foundation Facebook page.

Cheryl Berninghaus of the Teacher of the Year Foundation said the name of the award was changed so that it better reflects what it is: a way to honor and support the efforts of a primary school teacher and a secondary school teacher — public or private — in North Kitsap.

Each award comes with a $500 prize.

A nominated teacher must be an accredited full-time or part-time teacher in a public or accredited private school located within the North Kitsap School District boundaries; have five or more years of teaching experience; and have three or more years of teaching experience in a North Kitsap-area school.

The basic criteria for selecting the Teacher of the Year are:

1. Diligence. Alertly detects any child who is becoming disconnected, learns the cause and fashions a solution that restores the child’s interest in being an active learner.

2. Professionalism. The teacher’s professionalism and expertise.

3. Community involvement. The teacher’s efforts to include the community in the educational process, i.e., enlarging and enriching the educational experience through community involvement.

Nominees will be profiled in an upcoming edition of the North Kitsap Herald and on NorthKitsapHerald.com. The winners will be announced in May.

So the story goes, the Teacher of the Year Foundation was founded in the 1980s after several local school levies failed at the polls. The idea behind the foundation: Let voters know about the good work that teachers do, what they are doing to prepare young people for life, how they meet the challenges of teaching amid economic, political and social changes, their place in the circle of American life: that well-educated students means a more competitive workforce and engaged citizenry, which means a healthier economy and stronger communities.

Since the award’s inception and the telling of those stories, not one local school levy has failed at the polls.

The Teacher of the Year Award is no popularity contest. Over the years, through this award and the stories of its recipients, we’ve learned about the innovations that teachers bring to the classroom. Going the extra mile is no cliché; we’ve seen to what lengths a teacher will go to engage students, help them overcome obstacles, help them discover and reach new heights in their academic and personal growth.

The Teacher of the Year Award has been good for local education and for the public — a way to cast a brighter light on ideas and innovations in use in the classroom.

You can help tell the story.

Questions? Go to the North Kitsap Teacher of the Year Foundation Facebook page.