Educator of the Year

Educator of the Year

The Educator-of-the-Year award is the most distinguished honor the Ohio Middle Level Association can bestow upon an individual to recognize his or her contributions to middle level education.

The Educator of the Year is awarded at our annual conference each year. 

2025 Educator of the Year Application

  • Nomination Criteria

    • The nominator must be a current member of the Ohio Middle Level Association
    • Individual Nominated may be a teacher, administrator, or parent.
    • Nominee must be a current member of the Ohio Middle Level Association.
    • Previous recipients may not be nominated for the award.

  • Application Criteria

    • Nominated individual promotes the middle school concept through involvement in exemplary programs, leadership, or research that serves the needs of middle level students.
    • The candidate is involved at the local, regional, and state levels.

  • Awarding the Honor

    • A committee member of the Ohio Middle Level Association Excecutive Board will review all nominations. 
    • If multiple teams meet the selection criteria on paper, the two or three highest rated will be visited. The higest rated team after visitations will receive the recognition.
    • The selected Educator of the Year will be recognized at  the OMLA annual state conference.
    • If no teams meet the selection criteria, the award will not be given.

Previous Recipients

Ohio Middle Level Association Educator of the Year Award Previous recipients who are not eligible for this award:

  • 1979 Burt Reed
  • 1980 Gordan Vars
  • 1981 Vince Barra
  • 1982 Herb Broda
  • 1983 John Haschak
  • 1984 Bob Edwards
  • 1985 Rob Hayden
  • 1986 Wayne Ambrose
  • 1987 Helena Sturkey
  • 1988 Larry Lewis
  • 1989 Charlotte Wagner
  • 1990 Gordon Gerber
  • 1991 Philip Binkley
  • 1992 Joe Mucciarone
  • 1993 Tom Bletcher
  • 1994 Susan Wynn
  • 1995 William Kaderly
  • 1996 Dana Cowardin
  • 1997 Ed Vittardi
  • 1998 Diana Haap
  • 1999 Barbara Miller
  • 2000 Steve Raines
  • 2001 Nancy Poliseno
  • 2002 Don Jostworth
  • 2003 Janet Litzel
  • 2004 David Kommer
  • 2005 Charles Beard
  • 2006 Ferald Manganella
  • 2007 Shannon Federinko
  • 2008 John Swaim
  • 2009 Jack Berckemeyer
  • 2010 Dona Gardner Klein
  • 2011 Tom Burton
  • 2013 Patricia Grove
  • 2014 Jay Clark
  • 2015 Wendy Fragasse
  • 2016 Nancy Wanyerka
  • 2016 James Trogdon
  • 2017 Kyle Leatherman
  • 2018 Michelle Koussa
  • 2019 Lorrie Kubaszewski
  • 2020 Matt Smith
  • 2021 Cindy Dorsey
  • 2022 Paul Destino
  • 2023 Tiffany Shaw
  • 2024 Kim Cockley

Educator of the Year Nomination

Educator of the Year Nomination

Professional Experience: