LINK nky Educator of the Week submission form

At LINK nky, we believe that teachers are at the heart of our community’s success. The Educator of the Week contest is our way of recognizing and celebrating the incredible educators who go above and beyond for Northern Kentucky students every day.

By highlighting their dedication, creativity, and impact, we hope to shine a light on the important role teachers play in shaping the future—and to give our community a chance to show its appreciation for the people who make a lasting difference in our classrooms.

LINK nky Educator of the Week Official Rules

Who counts as an educator? 

Educators include classroom teachers, principals, counselors, librarians, paraprofessionals/aides, coaches, administrative staff with direct student impact, early-childhood and adult-ed instructors, college/university faculty and staff, homeschool and alternative-program instructors—anyone who teaches people.

Eligibility 

  • Nominees should serve students in Boone, Kenton or Campbell counties.
  • Nominees must be currently active in their role at the time of nomination.
  • Prior “Teacher of the Week” winners are ineligible again for 12 months after winning. Non-winning nominees may be reconsidered in future weeks.

How to nominate

  • Nominations are accepted at any time via the LINK nky nomination form.
  • A photo must be included with the form
    – You must have permission to share the photo
  • Nominations received by Sunday 11:59 p.m. ET are considered for the next week’s slate; later submissions roll forward.

How weekly nominees are chosen

Each week LINK nky editors review eligible nominations and choose three nominees based on:

  • Impact: clear examples of student support, learning gains, creativity, mentorship, or community service.
  • Specificity: detailed stories beat general praise
  • Balance over time: We aim for a diverse mix across roles (classroom, counseling, admin, higher-ed, etc.), grade levels, subject areas, school types (public, private, charter, homeschool, higher ed), and communities across our region.
  • Freshness/rotation: We try not to repeat the same schools or districts in back-to-back weeks when strong alternatives exist.

Editors may lightly edit nomination text for clarity and length.

Weekly schedule

  • Mondays, 3:00 p.m. ET: LINK nky publishes a story featuring the three nominees and opens public voting.
  • Fridays, 12:00 p.m. ET: Voting closes.
  • Fridays, by 3:00 p.m. ET: LINK nky publishes a story announcing the Teacher of the Week.

How voting works 

  • Voting opens Mondays at 3 p.m. and runs until Friday at noon ET.
  • Vote as often as you like! There’s no limit to how many times you can show support for your favorite educator during the week.
  • Share the voting link with friends, family, students, and coworkers—the more people who know about your nominee, the more votes they can earn!
  • LINK nky encourages friendly competition and community spirit. We want to see entire classrooms, schools and neighborhoods rally behind their favorite educators.
  • We’ll keep an eye out for spam or automated votes to make sure everyone has a fair chance, but enthusiastic community support is absolutely encouraged.

Winner recognition 

  • The winner is profiled on LINK nky and on our social channels.
  • By submitting a nomination or photo, you grant LINK nky the right to publish the text, the nominee’s name/school, and supplied images (with credit) across LINK nky platforms. If your photo includes students, you confirm you have permission to share it.

Conduct and disqualification 

LINK nky may disqualify nominees or void votes for: ineligible roles, inaccurate information, harassment or interference with the process, or violations of school policies/laws. We may postpone or cancel a week for breaking news or unforeseen circumstances.

Contact

Questions or issues? Email news@linknky.com with the subject line Educator of the Week.

Nominees should serve students in Boone, Kenton or Campbell counties. All nominations must include a photo and a paragraph about why you are nominating this educator in order to be considered.

Nominations are always open, and three nominees will be chosen every Monday starting Jan. 12, 2026.

Name (nominator)(Required)
Educator you are nominating (full name)(Required)
Upload a photo of the educator you are nominating(Required)
Accepted file types: jpg, jpeg, png, gif.