The National Teacher’s Hall of Fame class of 2020 is set, however, induction activities will be coming later than normal.
NTHF Director Carol Strickland announced on KVOE’s Talk of Emporia Friday morning the 2020 class announcements have been pushed back to the fall due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Strickland says they could have gone forward with the announcements during the spring, as has been tradition, however, with school’s closed and much uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, Strickland says they felt announcing during this time would rob inductees of the full hall of fame experience they have worked so hard for.
Strickland says with school hopefully resuming as normal in the fall, making the announcements at the start of the school year would likely make the moment much more special for the inductees as well as their peers.
Along with the official induction ceremony, the annual rededication of the National Memorial to Fallen Educators will also be moved to next year. Despite the disheartening adjustments, Strickland did announce one exciting addition to next year’s list of induction activities.
She tells KVOE in addition to the annual trip to Washington D.C., which will take place in April, the 2020 class will also travel to Disney World in January. The Disney World trip will become a permanent addition to the annual induction activities according to Strickland thanks to a new partnership between the hall of fame and the Pegasus Springs Education Collective
With the 2020 class being formally inducted next year there will be no 2021 class. Applications for the 2022 class of the hall of fame will become available between the end of this year and the start of 2021 giving future applicants a full year to complete the application process.
The National Teacher’s Hall of Fame museum remains closed to the public, however, Strickland says the hall of fame is continuing fundraising at this time. If you would like to donate to the National Teacher’s Hall of Fame you may do so by visiting their website www.NTHF.org, mailing donations to 1 Kellog Circle, box4017 in Emporia or by calling Strickland at 757-6385.
