Amazon announces Teacher of the Year award recipients

ByDay One Staff
Selected among thousands of eligible teachers, award recipients win a prize package valued at more than $50,000 for their schools and classrooms.

Amazon is proud to announce and honor the first-ever Amazon Future Engineer Teacher of the Year Award recipients—10 all-star teachers working diligently to help students in underserved and underrepresented communities build life-changing skills to propel their futures in computer science. These award-winning teachers focus on promoting diversity and inclusion in computer science and beyond in the following schools:

  • Bronx Academy of Letters, Bronx, NY
  • Canyon Ridge High School, San Bernardino, CA
  • Carl Hayden High School, Phoenix, AZ
  • Gonzales High School, Gonzales, California
  • KIPP Columbus High School, Columbus, OH
  • KIPP DC College Prep High School, Washington, D.C.
  • Riverside High School, Charleston, WV
  • Southport High School, Indianapolis, IN
  • West Mesquite High School, Mesquite, TX
  • Whites Creek Comprehensive High School, Whites Creek, TN

To share the great news with each of the winning teachers, Amazon worked with their principals and fellow teachers to surprise them. From video conference calls to contactless doorstep deliveries, Amazon Future Engineer celebrated each teacher alongside their excited colleagues, even while apart. Amazon’s CEO of Worldwide Consumer, Jeff Wilke, also made one of the surprise calls.

“Teachers are beloved in communities across the country, and we are excited to celebrate their hard work, passion, and commitment to their students’ future success,” said Jeff Wilke, CEO, Amazon Worldwide Consumer. “Computer science skills will be of vital importance as we take on and solve the challenges of the future. We are thrilled to honor these teachers, many of whom work with students in underserved and underrepresented communities, with our first Amazon Future Engineer Teacher of the Year Awards.”

Each of the ten award-winning teachers received a prize package valued at over $50,000 to be used to benefit his or her school and students. In addition to the contest’s original $25,000 award, Amazon is donating an additional $25,000 in school supplies, including Amazon Fire HD 8 Tablets, classroom essentials from AmazonBasics, and additional items from Amazon Essentials. In their Amazon Future Engineer swag box, award recipients also received one full year of Amazon Music Unlimited and a 12-month Audible.com Gold Gift Membership. In this inaugural year of the award, Amazon is also recognizing each of the hundreds of applicants with a $200 Amazon gift card to celebrate their hard work on behalf of computer science students across the country.

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