Educators have always deserved praise and recognition–that has never been more evident than during the pandemic, when they prioritized student safety among heroic efforts to keep learning going virtually, in hybrid environments, and finally, for full in-person learning. These efforts are exactly what the eSchool News K-12 Hero Awards Program recognizes.

Sponsored by JAR Systems and SAP Concur, vendors can nominate as many individuals or organizations as they’d like. The program recognizes the dedicated efforts of education professionals across K-12 departments, including IT, curriculum, instruction and administration.

eSN Editor-at-Large Kevin Hogan sat down with Kelly Goodman of K-12 Hero Awards Program nominee FLVS, along with Jim McClurkin from sponsor SAP Concur, to chat about post-pandemic education and innovation.

“Luckily, we were set up, when the pandemic hit, to teach virtually,” said Kelly Goodman of FLVS. “It was a struggle because we grew rapidly–we took on a lot of students and teachers in that time and also provided training to teachers across the state, brick and mortar teachers who had never taught online turned to us for that training.”

For us as a technology company, we’re always looking for innovative public organizations,” said SAP Concur’s Jim McClurkin. “Kelly and the team at FLVS have been really at the forefront of driving everything technologically as far as efficiencies and solutions. When they can drive those efficiencies, they’re able to spend more of their money teaching. When you look at that ability to move to spending more dollars on education versus back office, it’s a tremendous story for a virtual school.”

Nominations will be judged by a panel of education experts including Laura Ascione, eSchool News editorial director, Kevin Hogan, eSchool News editor-at-large, and Eileen Belastock, CETL, Belastock Consulting. Three winners will be announced on eSchoolNews.com in early October.

Make your nominations here: https://eschoolmedia.com/k-12-hero-awards-nomination/.