The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) is the highest recognition

Teacher award

Teacher awards are given to teachers in recognition of their services to their profession and the students they teach. There are numerous countries and organisations that give out awards.-United States:...

 that a kindergarten through 12th-grade mathematics or science teacher may receive for outstanding teaching in the United States. Enacted by Congress in 1983

98th United States Congress

The Ninety-eighth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1983 to January 3, 1985, during the third and...

, this program authorizes the President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 to bestow up to 108 awards each year. The National Science Foundation

National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...

 (NSF) administers PAEMST on behalf of The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Office of Science and Technology Policy

The Office of Science and Technology Policy is an office in the Executive Office of the President , established by Congress on May 11, 1976, with a broad mandate to advise the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs.The director of this office is...

.

Eligibility

The following are eligibility criteria for nominees. They must:

• Be highly qualified teachers, as deemed by their states, districts, or schools; teachers in private/independent schools should meet the spirit of the principles and provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act
  No Child Left Behind Act
  The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the education of children in public schools.NCLB was originally proposed by the administration of George W. Bush immediately after he took office...
  
  , Public Law 107-110.
• Hold a degree or appropriate credentials in the category for which they are applying.
• Teach in one of the 50 states or four U.S. jurisdictions. The jurisdictions are Washington, D.C.
  Washington, D.C.
  Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
  
  , Puerto Rico
  Puerto Rico
  Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
  
  , Department of Defense Schools
  Department of Defense Education Activity
  The Department of Defense Education Activity is a civilian agency of the United States Department of Defense that manages all schools for military children and teenagers, as well as foreign service children and teenagers, in the United States and also overseas at American military bases worldwide...
  
  , and the U.S. territories as a group (American Samoa
  American Samoa
  American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
  
  , Guam
  Guam
  Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
  
  , the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).
• Be full-time employees of the school or school district.
• Have at least 5 years of mathematics or science teaching experience prior to application.
• Teach mathematics or science at the appropriate grade level in a public or private school. The award is made to teachers of kindergarten through 6th grades and 7th through 12 grades in alternate years.
• Not have received the national PAEMST award in any prior competition or category.