Outstanding Early Career Teacher Award Overview
Nebraska Writing Project hosts an annual award to recognize the promise of an early career Nebraska teacher who:
- exemplifies the dispositions and core values of NeWP in their teaching practice,
- initiates active involvement and leadership (especially through the NeWP community), and
- invests in continuous opportunities for professional growth and leadership.
Through a teacher-directed nomination process, NeWP selects each year a Nebraska K-12 teacher early in their career who is demonstrating a remarkable trajectory of teaching and leadership.
Nominate a Teacher
All Nebraska teachers, K-12, are eligible for this award. To nominate a teacher, send a letter of nomination to the NeWP Director, Dr. Rachael Shah (Rshah@unl.edu), by May 1st, 2025.
Nominations should include:
A. Nominee's name; home, school, and e-mail address; phone number
B. Nominator's name; home, school, and e-mail address; phone number
C. A letter of nomination explaining how this teacher exemplifies the spirit of the award.
All nominations will be read and rated by the Nebraska Writing Project Co-Directors. Evaluations will be based on how the nominee exemplifies the dispositions and core values of NeWP in their teaching practice, initiates active involvement and leadership (especially through the NeWP community), andinvests in continuous opportunities for professional growth and leadership.
The award recipient will be announced at the Nebraska Writing Project Summer Celebration in mid-June.
2025 Recipient: Grace Story
The Nebraska Writing Project is honored to present the inaugural Outstanding Early Career Teacher Award to Grace Story. Grace attended the Summer Institute in 2023, and she immediately immersed herself in ways to lead and grow as a leader. She took on the challenge of representing NeWP with Shelby Schmidt at the Boise Writing Project Democracy Building Institute on media literacy.
In Shelby’s words, “Grace flourished. Her humor and warm heart, alongside her desire to engage her middle school learners in critical thinking, rivaled those of veteran teachers in the institute.” Grace presented about her media literacy work to preservice teachers and at a digital conference.
Grace also joined the advisory board, and as her other nominator, Jillian Harpster, observed, “When Grace joined the NeWP board, she brought an enthusiasm and intentionality that could not help but be noticed.” She was also a facilitator of this year’s Summer Institute, lending her energy and creativity to this critical program. Jillian notes, “Grace has a sharp, critical mind and she is a kind human. The combination makes her a superlative teacher and fantastic colleague.”
In the Nebraska Writing Project, we celebrate how educators can see a young teacher like Grace making a state-wide impact and adding to national conversations about how to equip our students to grow as citizens. As Shelby eloquently explained, “Grace is the model for what it means to be an engaged teacher, and she is doing it early in her career. We need more young teachers like Grace - her work and love for student enrichment bring me so much hope for the profession and our Nebraska students.” Congratulations, Grace!