WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced today the call for nominations for the Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award. This award was established on May 2, 2019, by the President’s Executive Order on America’s Cybersecurity Workforce. The U.S. Department of Education created the award in consultation with the Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism at the National Security Council and the National Science Foundation.
“Cybersecurity is one of the fastest growing fields in the world,” said Secretary DeVos. “Here in the U.S., there are nearly half a million cybersecurity jobs waiting to be filled. This new Award will recognize great teachers who are helping prepare our students to fill those jobs and help keep our nation safe now and in the future.”
Beginning in the spring of 2020, the Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award will be presented each year to two educators, one elementary and one secondary, who instill in their students the skills, knowledge and passion for cybersecurity and related subjects. Award recipients will embody the expertise and dedication of educators who are critical to strengthening the nation’s cybersecurity workforce.
Recipients of this honor will receive acknowledgement by the President of the United States and Secretary DeVos, public recognition as a leader in the field of cybersecurity education, as well as professional development opportunities.
Educators from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, all U.S. territories, Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools and tribal areas are eligible to apply or be nominated. Anyone may nominate an educator for this honor; self-nominations are permitted as well.
The nomination period opens today, during National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and will close on January 31, 2020. For the rules, terms and conditions and specifics on how to apply, please visit here. Information on the Executive Order is available here.