Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced the Amazon Future Engineer Teacher of the Year Awards to honor seven teachers and their schools working to help students in underserved and underrepresented communities build skills in computer science. Prize packages are valued at more than $25,000.
The more than 2,400 teachers participating in the Amazon Future Engineer Program at over 2,100 schools nationwide can be nominated or apply at AmazonFutureEngineer.com from February 13th to March 12th.
Award recipients will be chosen based on criteria which includes their commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion within computer science education, a recommendation from a school administrator, and compelling, personal anecdotes about their school and students. Seven award recipients will be chosen from across the country – two high school teachers in the Eastern U.S., two in the West, two in the Central region, and one Amazon Future Engineer Robotics Grant teacher. Scholarship America will judge applications and select the award recipients.
Computer science is the fastest-growing profession within the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) field, but only 8% of STEM graduates earn a computer science degree, with a small percentage from underserved backgrounds. Students from underserved backgrounds are 8 to 10 times more likely to pursue college degrees in computer science if they have taken AP computer science in high school.
All Amazon Future Engineer teachers can apply to the Amazon Future Engineer Teacher of the Year Awards starting on February 13th through March 12th at AmazonFutureEngineer.com. School principals, administrators, peers, and students can also nominate Amazon Future Engineer teachers.
The schools of award recipients will each receive a prize package valued at over $25,000, which may include a variety of needed donations to their classrooms, STEM toys and activities, school upgrades and enhancements and more. They will also receive an all-expenses paid trip to re:MARS, Amazon’s AI event covering a diverse array of topics and themes related to Machine Learning, Automation, Robotics, and Space. Teachers with questions about the application can visit AmazonFutureEngineer.com.
