Official Site of The State of New Jersey

This year, candidates should be early to mid-career professionals with at least 5 years of experience working in elementary (grades PreK-5) education serving in teacher, specialist, and/or principal roles, who have demonstrated the criteria listed below:

1. Exceptional educational talent as evidenced by effective instructional practices and student learning results in the classroom and school. The nominee must be rated Effective or Highly Effective on his or her latest final summative evaluation rating;
2. Exemplary educational accomplishments beyond the classroom that provide models of excellence for the profession;
3. Contributions to education that are largely unheralded, yet worthy of the spotlight;
4. Engaging and inspiring presence that motivates and impacts students, colleagues, and the community; and
5. Strong, long-range potential for professional and policy leadership.

Note:This is a confidential process. Candidates should not be aware of this recommendation.

In order to recommend an Exemplary Educator, you will need to submit an online application by following the steps below:

1. Obtain a district-level Exemplary Educator account from your district's Homeroom Administrator which will then generate a username and password
2. Users should then use their district-level login credentials to access the 2026 Exemplary Educator Recognition Program Recommendation Form. This form can be found on the New Jersey  Department of Education’s Homeroom webpage by scrolling down and clicking on “Exemplary Educator”.
3. Upload a one-page, signed recommendation letter on official letterhead explaining how the candidate meets the criteria. (Note: Since it must contain an official signature, please scan and upload in PDF format.)
4. Upload the candidate’s resume. (Note: The resume need not be current but must be either in Word (doc or docx) or scanned in PDF)

1. After each component of the online recommendation is complete, you will see a green check  mark. When all the components of the recommendation are complete, you will be prompted to review and then submit the recommendation. Once submitted you will see the prompt on the home screen next to the candidate’s name stating, “Recommendation Submitted.” Please print a copy for your files.
2. Please note that in the Honoree Information section, the candidate’s Staff Member Identifier (SMID) must be entered initially otherwise the application will not save any of the information entered in this section and one must start this section over.  A candidate’s SMID (unique 8-digit number that is assigned by NJDOE to all staff members employed in a NJ public school district) can be found in whatever system the district uses to store staff data reported to NJSLEDS (NJ Statewide Longitudinal Education Data System).
3. Your completed Exemplary Educator Recommendation(s) must be submitted online by 4 p.m. EST on April 10, 2026. Should you have any questions, please contact educatorrecognition@doe.nj.gov.