2026 Teacher of the Year Award

2026 KidsLinked Teacher of the Year Award

Teachers have worked hard all year! Now is the time to recognize that hard work! Nominate your favorite teacher for our 2026 KidsLinked Teacher of the Year Award presented by 104.9 The River!

Teaching is hard, but nominating is easy! Scroll down and complete the form below!

Categories are by grade level and are as follows:

Childcare/PreK presented by Fred Astaire Dance Studios of Westerville
Elementary presented by Columbus Clippers
Junior High/Middle School
High School
Special Education presented by 12th Annual Columbus Disabilities Festival

Your Name:

Your Email Address:

Your Nominated Teacher's First & Last Name:

Your Nominated Teacher's Email Address:

School Principal/Director's First & Last Name:

School Principal/Director's Email Address:

Your Nominated Teacher's Category:

Choose an Option

Explain Why You Are Nominating This Teacher for Teacher of the Year:

Upload a Photo of Your Nominated Teacher:

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Nominations are open 5/6/26-5/13/26. Once nominations close, voting opens 5/14/26 and ends 5/21/26. Winners will be determined by total votes overall and in each category, so once voting opens, come back 5/14 to vote for your nominee and spread the word to others to seal the deal!

Besides bragging rights, winners receive the following:

First place overall wins an award, $50 cash, $40 game card & 4 Spin Zone Bumper Car passes to Scene 75, 4-pack of Columbus Clippers tickets, a Raising Cane's kid’s meal & free lemonade gift card, dance lesson voucher from Fred Astaire Dance Studios of Westerville, Everything Passes for their whole party when attending our Columbus Children's Festival on 6/20 to accept their award and prizes, plus more!

First place in each category wins an award, $25 cash, $40 game card & 4 Spin Zone Bumper Car passes to Scene 75, 4-pack of Columbus Clippers tickets, a Raising Cane's kid’s meal & free lemonade gift card, dance lesson voucher from Fred Astaire Dance Studios of Westerville, Everything Passes for their whole party when attending our Columbus Children's Festival on 6/20 to accept their award and prizes, plus more!

Second place in each category wins an award, $10 cash, $40 game card & 4 Spin Zone Bumper Car passes to Scene 75, 4-pack of Columbus Clippers tickets, a Raising Cane's kid's meal & free lemonade gift card, dance lesson voucher from Fred Astaire Dance Studios of Westerville, Everything Passes for their whole party when attending our 2026 Columbus Children's Festival on Saturday, 6/20 to accept their award and prizes, plus more!

Special thanks to our partners: 104.9 the River, Fred Astaire Dance Studios, Columbus Clippers, Raising Cane's and Scene 75!

Winners will be determined by overall votes. The teacher with the most overall votes will be named 2026 KidsLinked Teacher of the Year. Teachers with the most votes in each category will be named first place in their respective category with the teacher receiving the second highest votes named second place in their respective category. Each winner and their principal/director will be notified via email. Prizes and awards will be handed out at our 2026 KidsLinked Columbus Children's Festival on 6/20/26. An awards ceremony will take place at roughly 3pm at the main event stage. One nomination per teacher. Multiple nominations for the same teacher will be combined with only one nomination being open for voting. Each participant is able to vote once per day, so come back daily. Contest rules, eligibility, prizes and determination of winner is at the sole discretion of KidsLinked. All rights reserved by KidsLinked, MetroLinked and its affiliates, employees, advertisers and sponsors.