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Contests

We hold periodic contests that help us highlight the rich, challenging, and underappreciated world of the teachers. These contests are open to everyone.

Teacher Portrait Contest

Our faces are shaped by gravity and experience. The faces of teachers have been touched by their work with countless students, parents, and colleagues. This contest calls for portraits of school teachers—photographic, drawn, or painted—that reveal the depth and complexity of the teaching life.

You do not need to be a teacher to enter the contest, but your subject must be a school teacher.

The winning entry will receive $500 and will be announced by the end of 2025. The Academy reserves the right not to award a prize if submission quality does not meet the judgment standards.


Deadline: July 31, 2025

Submit your portrait!


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“Stories Out of School” Flash Fiction Contest

Teachers have the most fascinating, difficult, and important job on the planet, and their workdays are filled with stories. Yet teachers seldom appear in fiction. This annual contest, for teachers and non-teachers, was created to inspire great stories about teachers and the rich and crazy world of schools.

2025 Contest

The judge was bestselling author, ALA Carnegie Medal and LA Times Book Prize winner Rebecca Makkai. The runners-up were published in A Public Space's online edition. The winning story was published in A Public Space's print edition and the author received $1,000.

The 2026 contest will open in summer 2025.

First Prize
"Lockdown Drill" by Anne Beatty

Runners-Up
"The Prepositions" by Mark Mayer
"Favorite" by Anjali Sachdeva

Read the Winning Stories

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BD Wong reads the 2019 winning story from our Flash Fiction Contest.

BD Wong reading
the 2019 wining story
"A Brief Description of Mister Kuka"
by Santian Vataj
at our annual fundraiser
Show Teachers the Love!

Past Winners

Help us keep great teachers in the classroom

Teachers, our most valuable resource, are struggling. Overwhelmed and under-supported, too many teachers leave the profession too soon. The Academy’s enriching experiences and supportive community have been proven to improve those odds.

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