South Shore Foundation is accepting nominations for its annual Outstanding Teacher Awards. The program consists of three annual awards to teachers, one award in each of the following grade-level groupings: Kindergarten through 5th grades; 6th - 8th grades; and 9th-12th grades. Each winner will receive $1,000.

Nomination forms are available at the schools and online at www.southshore.com. At the Web site, visit the South Shore Foundation page to view the information and nomination form. Nominations must be postmarked by March 15, 2006. The awards will be announced at graduation or awards night at the school where the winners are employed.

Only teachers in South Shore area schools are eligible for the South Shore Foundation Outstanding Teacher Award. Those schools are: Flippin, Bergman, Bruno-Pyatt, Lead Hill, Omaha, and Yellville-Summit.

South Shore Foundation recently adopted a mission statement for the program which states that the Outstanding Teacher Award "encourages teachers who, through their methods and dedication, inspire student mastery of a varied curriculum to form the basis of lifelong learning."

Teachers in the six schools are eligible if they teach full time, are fully qualified and certified in the subject they teach, have at least four years of experience, take part in professional development, advise students in activities associated with the subjects they teach or with extracurricular activities, and can demonstrate that students have achieved success in the subject matter taught. The nomination process requires two letters of endorsement about the nominee’s teaching, professional development activities or commitment to the school and community.

Those wishing to nominate a teacher should contact their school’s superintendent or see the South Shore Web site at www.southshore.com at the South Shore Foundation page.