Nominations for Diller Educator Awards

Guidelines, procedures, and forms

Nominations are currently closed. 

Established in January 2001, this award recognizes and honors educational professionals engaged with pre-collegiate Jewish learning who have made an extraordinary impact on the youth of our community. Award categories include early childhood, day school, congregational and supplementary, and Jewish communal and experiential. This award includes a grant of $12,500, which will provide $10,000 to the recipient and $2,500 to the educational organization where they currently work.

Guidelines

  • The award is intended to honor Jewish educational professionals working directly with pre-collegiate age learners. Administrators, principals, and others whose primary responsibility involves educational leadership and supervising direct staff do not qualify. Hands-on work (either in-person or virtual) with these learners must exceed other professional responsibilities, encompassing a majority of the nominee’s responsibilities.
  • Nominees must exemplify excellence in Jewish education and must currently be a professional in a program of pre-collegiate Jewish education within the Bay Area.
  • Nominees must be at least 18 years old when nominated.
  • Nominees must have worked in the field of Jewish education for a minimum of three years. They need not be Jewish but must transmit Jewish knowledge and values. Nominations are encouraged from all Jewish religious streams and Jewish communal spaces.
  • Nominees in each of these categories should work as follows:
    • Early Childhood: Eligible professionals work in an organization, school, or space that engages pre-elementary school-age children or their families.
    • Day School: Eligible professionals work in a full-day Jewish school with students in grades as young as Kindergarten and up to 12th grade.
    • Congregational and Supplementary: Eligible professionals work with school-aged learners and/or families in an ongoing, part-time program. These programs can include a congregational school, afterschool program, a supplementary program, or a youth group. These ongoing programs are not limited to those that take place in a classroom.
    • Jewish Communal and Experiential: Eligible professionals work with learners and/or families through immersive experiences, multiple limited programs, or multiple one-time events. This includes camps, communal organizational programming, congregations, museums, farms, and others.
  • Educators are eligible to be nominated for up to three years in a row.
  • A nominator may nominate up to one person per category for a Diller Educator Award each year. Nominators should choose the category or categories that best fit(s) the program(s) they oversee or in which they are involved.
  • If you are unclear how your organization’s unique programs fit into one of the above categories, please reach out to Diller Awards Staff or call 415.512.6265.
     

Nomination Procedure

  • Nominators may be a candidate's current or former supervisor, school principal, program director, agency/organization director, past or present colleague, or past or present learner, or the learner’s family. If the nominator is not the direct supervisor, the direct supervisor or other administrators from the educator’s sponsoring organization must provide a letter of recommendation to proceed. The nominator’s statement should describe a nominee's accomplishments and explain why the nominee merits a Diller Award.
  • The nominator or the nominee’s direct supervisor is requested to notify the candidate of his or her nomination.
  • The nominator is also asked to solicit two letters of support for the nominee. This letter should be completed by parents, current or former colleagues, current or former learners, or members of the community who have worked directly with the nominee. Nominators should not request both letters from the same group. Letters of support should give concrete examples of a nominee's effectiveness and impact on students inside and/or outside the classroom. Letters of support should be submitted online.

Selection Procedure

  • All applications will be reviewed by the Diller Educator Awards Selection Committee, comprised of educators and lay leaders from the Jewish community who have a long-standing interest and involvement in Jewish education.
  • During the review process, additional information may be requested.

Please address questions to Diller Awards Staff or call 415.512.6265.