Massachusetts Council for Exceptional Children
​Special Education Professional of the Year Award
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The Massachusetts Council for Exceptional Children annually recognizes one professional in the field of special education who has demonstrated leadership, research, outstanding innovations in the field, excellence in teaching, at the school, community, district, and/or state level that take place within or outside the school setting, influencing significant contributions that advance the field of special education in a positive way. ​

Award Eligibility
The nominee must:
• Be a current CEC member at the time of nomination and have been a CEC member for at least 2 years (these years of membership may be non-consecutive).
• Have made an impact in the field of special education through innovation, scholarship, research, or work with  to students.
• Hold professional certification or related credentials in the area in which he or she provides services.
• Engage in work consistent with CEC’s mission statement, as stated above.

Posthumous nominations are not accepted.
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Benefits of the Award
The recipient of the award will:

• Be recognized  at an awards ceremony at our annual conference
• Be featured on our organization’s website
• Receive complimentary registration to the 2022 Fall conference, and other events hosted by MCEC
• Be featured in a press release and social media campaign

All nomination materials (including letters of recommendation and other nomination materials) must be submitted together by September 15, 2022.
Award recipients and nominators will be notified by Oct 15.   
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To nominate for the Professional of the Year award, click this link to our submission form.

Submission Materials:
Please submit a letter of nomination describing how the individual has meaningfully contributed to creating change in the field of special education through  leadership, research, outstanding innovations in the field, excellence in teaching, at the school, community, district, and/or state level that take place within or outside the school setting, influencing significant contributions that advance the field of special education in a positive way. We are particularly interested in work that shifts or adjusts perceptions of disability and that promotes social justice, inclusion and equity. The letter must:

• identify an area/category in which the individual has meaningfully contributed to the field of special education. 
• describe in detail how the individual's collective work advances the field.
• address the areas of award relevance.  

• include evidence of positive change provided via examples or additional letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with the work of the self-advocate. 
• describe how the work promotes social justice, equity and inclusion. 

Submission Guidelines/Eligibility:

• Nominee must be a professional working in any aspect of the field of special education. 
• This award is open to any professional working in field of special education (including self-advocates). 
• All nomination materials (including letters of recommendation and other nomination materials) must be submitted together by September 15.  Nominations will only be accepted electronically on our website.
• All submissions will receive a confirmation e-mail within three business days.
•  Supporting materials uploaded to our website must be PDF files.
• Please use the file name to clearly label each section and all nomination materials (e.g., “Jane_Smith_2022_MCEC_POYAward.doc” or MCEC.doc” or “John _Smith_Vitae.doc”).
•  All materials submitted become the property of MCEC and will not be returned.
• Nominees may be nominated by a CEC-affiliated organization (unit, chapter, division, or subdivision), individual (principal, CEC member, fellow teacher/colleague, student, parent, self), educational organization (school, parent group, etc.), or community group.
• Only one nomination will be accepted from each CEC-affiliated organization in any given year per award.

Award recipients and nominators will be notified by Oct 15.   
  
Upon notification of the award a a photograph of the individual will be required.
The photograph may be either a headshot or a photo capturing the individual in action related to their award area.