Bring out the red carpet for the rising star and the teacher of the year nominees in the Bartlesville Public Schools district.

Blair Ellis, the Executive Director of the Bartlesville Public Schools Foundation, said the next event on their radar is the Teacher of the Year celebration. She said this is not a fundraising event for the BPS Foundation, but rather the Foundation's way of giving back to the schools and supporting the district's teachers further.

Teachers in the Bartlesville Public Schools teachers work hard every day. Ellis said on the district's plate is the planning of the Teacher of the Year celebration. She said this is where the district honors their Teacher of the Year, and others.

This will be a red carpet event at the Bartlesville Community Center that will be hosted by the Bartlesville Public Schools Foundation on behalf of the school district. The free event will last from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25th.

Several Bartlesville Public Schools teachers have been nominated by their peers to be the 2020 site Teacher of the Year or the 2020 Rising Star Teacher.

Site Teachers of the Year for 2020 nominees include Amanda Daniels at Hoover Elementary, Terri James at Jane Phillips Elementary, Benjamin Showler at Ranch Heights, Abigale Kahler at Richard Kane Elementary, and Shelly Buhlinger at Wayside Elementary. At the middle school level, Andrea Satterfield was nominated at Central while Rachel Hough was nominated at Madison. Kristina Arguello was nominated to represent Bartlesville High School.

The district Teacher of the Year program is part of the state program that is only open to active classroom teachers who plan to continue teaching in the district in 2020-2021. Nominees must meet daily with an assigned group of students to teach a specific curriculum as well.

In the Bartlesville Public Schools district, the Teacher of the Year program is open to those who have already completed five or more full years of teaching experience in any accredited district and have continuously taught classes in the district since October 2018. There are no restrictions regarding previous nominees or winners, and there is an incomplete online database of past honorees.

2020 Rising Star Teacher nominees include Jessica Henderson at Hoover Elementary, Taylor Beck at Jane Phillips Elementary, Alana Murphy at Ranch Heights Elementary, Naudia Jackson at Richard Kane Elementary, Tara Dicks at Wayside Elementary, and Alaina Taylor at Wilson

Elementary. At the middle school level, Ty Huie was nominated at Central while Daniel Wren was nominated at Madison. Zandra Sanders was nominated to represent Bartlesville High School.

The Rising Star Teacher program is open to certified, non-administrative staff who plan to continue teaching in the district in 2020-2021. They must have one to four full years of teaching experience in any accredited district since October 2018. There are no restrictions regarding previous.