Transformative and regenerative for them—and you.
Each Bezos Scholar nominates a school staff member to participate fully in the program with them. It’s a unique opportunity to work closely with a motivated student leader over the course of an academic year. Enhance your advocacy skills, reignite or deepen your passion for education, and contribute to creating positive community impact.
Selected by students.
To be considered for the program, you must be nominated by a student that is applying. To be eligible, educator nominees must:
Be a current school staff member, in any position, OR staff member of a community organization that partners with and offers programming and/or resources to a student’s school.
Plan to return to work at the student's school/for the organization partnering with their school for the following academic year.
Be someone the student connects and works well with, who is supportive of student-led projects, and understands and can commit to program requirements.
Educators can only be a nominee for up to three students from the same school applying in the same year. Educator nominees CANNOT also be an applicant’s parent, guardian, or relative or their paid private tutor or counselor.
Educator nominee traits.
Strong educator nominee candidates have the following characteristics:
- They have a trusting relationship with their student nominee and collaborate effectively.
- Is engaged in their school and community; they are dedicated to supporting student leaders and student-led projects.
- Is an advocate, ally, and mentor; they know when to step in and when to step back, empowering students to lead.
- Is committed to their own growth as an educator; they recognize both their strengths and areas for learning.
- Understand the program’s expectations and have the capacity to take on additional responsibilities.
Find the Next Bezos Scholar
Your classroom holds tomorrow's leaders. Share our program overview presentation (PowerPoint) with students ready to make an impact.
Educator Role and Commitments.
You’ll get a lot from your Bezos Scholars experience—and you’ll give a lot, too. As an educator scholar, you’ll serve as a mentor, advocate and ally to student Scholars and student-led project teams. You’ll assist students in setting feasible goals and action plans as they explore, design and launch their Community Change Project.
- Educators should be prepared to fully participate in a year-long program, spending an average of 10 - 20 hours per month on program-related activities including virtual sessions.
- At the end of June, they join their student on an incredible all-expenses-paid week-long trip to the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, CO.
- Upon returning home, they work alongside students, supporting them in engaging community stakeholders to gather insight and ideas for their Community Change Project. The rest of the year is spent building a wider team while designing and implementing student-led projects.
Educator Role and Commitment Resources.
- Review these Scholar expectations to get a sense of student and educator expectations.
- Learn more about the program experience reviewing our timeline and check out the 2024-25 Scholar calendar which lists all the virtual sessions and Aspen trip dates. Virtual sessions are generally twice a month, on the second and fourth Saturdays to accommodate various time zones and school schedules.
- In recognition of this role and commitment, we offer educators a $1200 honorarium for their service and time.
This program has transformed the lives and motivational level for so many teachers. You have reinvigorated my passion for teaching.
Build your mentoring muscles.
Our program emphasizes measurable outcomes for students and educators alike. We aim for educator scholars to make gains in the following areas:
Advocacy for students
The ability to support, amplify the development of student voices, ideas and actions.
Capacity for fostering student leadership
Educators’ ability to believe in students’ success while helping to improve students’ leadership efficacy, resilience and sense of purpose.
Support of student agency
The ability to help students start and sustain a goal-directed effort.
Sense of belonging
The degree to which Educator Scholars feel a sense of affiliation and connection to the program and can instill a sense of belonging in others.
Writing the Student Recommendation
Once a student submits an online application, they will include their educator nominee’s contact information. The educator will receive an email inviting them to accept the student’s nomination by submitting a recommendation. We advise students use an educator’s personal and not school email in case school security settings block the email. The nomination form is confidential and not shared with the student. We estimate completing it will take 15-25 minutes, which must be done by the application deadline.
The online form asks educators to rate the student on the following selection criteria, compared to other students they have worked with throughout their career:
- Intellectual Curiosity: The applicant has the desire, willingness and drive to learn new things and explores information to think critically about answers to deeper questions. They have challenged their learning and have been accountable in school and other learning arenas.
- Demonstrated Leadership: While in high school, the applicant has been actively engaged as a collaborative leader in various ways and capacities, leading with empathy, compassion and perseverance.
- Readiness to Engage: The applicant has demonstrated solid leadership skills and is ready to further develop their skills in collaboration, problem-solving and civic impact. They are poised to take on the challenge of designing and implementing a student-led community change project.
The form also asks educators to complete the following short answer questions:
- Summarize why you are enthusiastically recommending this student for the program.
- Share one to two examples of how the student made a positive community impact that highlights their empathy, compassion and perseverance.
- From your honest assessment, share two areas for growth related to this student's leadership style and/or skills.