Arizona English Teachers Association

Scholarships

Conference Scholarships

  • The Early Career Educators Scholarship aims to increase the attendance of educators in their first 3 years of teaching at the AETA annual conference and to reduce the financial burden of attendance for teachers who are not financially supported by their school districts. 

    Award: $50 to go towards your travel to the 2026 conference, as well as your 2026 conference registration and membership.

  • The Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Scholarship aims to increase the attendance of educators who are members of underserved and historically marginalized communities (i.e. Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian/Asian Pacific, LGBTQIA+, and disabled) at the AETA annual conference and to reduce the financial burden of attendance for teachers who are not financially supported by their school districts. 

    Award: $50 to go towards your travel to the 2026 conference, as well as your 2026 conference registration and membership.

  • The Rural Educators Scholarship aims to increase attendance at the AETA annual conference from all parts of the state and to reduce the financial burden of attendance for teachers from rural areas who are not financially supported by their school districts. 

    Award: $50 to go towards your travel to the 2026 conference, as well as your 2026 conference registration and membership.

Apply Here

The Awards Committee will solicit nominations from the full membership for the AETA Teachers of Excellence Awards, the Community Literacy Award, and the Intellectual Freedom Award. The Awards Committee will collect nominations below and choose the winner, notify the winner, and present them as the recipient at the annual AETA Conference.

Awards

  • The AETA Teachers of Excellence Awards recognize teachers at each schooling level (elementary, middle, secondary, and postsecondary) for excellence in their classrooms.

    Those considered for this award must be teachers in the state of Arizona, who are in good standing with their licensure and places of employment. Upon receipt of this award, winners are expected to become AETA members, if they are not already.

  • The Community Literacy Award recognizes any individual, group, or organization for advancing literacy in Arizona's communities through the creation of special programming or events outside of K-12 schooling.

    Those considered for this award must have, in some way, advanced literacy in Arizona’s communities outside of K-12 schooling. Events, camps, programs, and organizations that charge students a fee to participate are not eligible for this award. In addition, this award does not recognize literacy research, literacy teaching, or volunteer hours worked for a literacy organization.

  • 1. The awardee has shown courage in advancing the cause of intellectual freedom or fighting censorship; 

    2. The awardee can be an educator or noneducator; 

    3. The awardee can be an individual, group, or institution; 

    4. The awardee’s activity can be related to particular recent events (e.g., a censorship dispute) or it can be ongoing (e.g., leadership demonstrated over a period of years); 

    5. The same awardee may not be named for two years in succession. 

    EXAMPLES: 

    1. A newspaper that supported, in an editorial, a teacher, school, or Board of Education action in defense of a challenged book, film, or educational method; 

    2. The teacher, school, or Board of Education involved in such a defense; 

    3. A department chair, principal, or central office leader who has over a period of time developed and/or supported intellectual freedom policies and practices; 

    4. A public official who took a stand in a difficult intellectual freedom case.