The William T. Dwyer Awards for Excellence in Education was established in 1985 to honor outstanding educators from public and private schools in Palm Beach County. Teachers from across the county are nominated by their peers at individual schools in one of five categories: Elementary Education, Middle School, Senior High, Special Programs and Career Education.

A selection committee chooses the five finalists for each category. A judging committee interviews each of the 25 finalists and the five award recipients are selected. Each award recipient receives a $3,000 check and a personalized plaque. The remaining 20 finalists are recognized individually with a framed certificate and a $500 check. Each school with a winning teacher will also receive $1,250 for the school to use for educational purposes. All nominees, finalists and award recipients will be honored at a reception and ceremony on Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.

The Dwyer Awards is a joint project of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County and the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County to honor dedicated public and private school teachers and their quest to improve education throughout the state of Florida.

The awards program is named for the late William T. Dwyer, a dynamic civic leader and highly respected vice president of Pratt & Whitney`s Government Products Division. He was the founding president of the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County and he served on countless boards and committees in his quest to promote excellence in education. These included the Economic Council`s K-12 Education Task Force, Florida Atlantic University`s Advisory Board for the College of Engineering, Florida State University`s Advisory Committee on Business Education, the Florida Chamber of Commerce`s Education Committee, the South Florida Coordinating Council`s Education Committee, the Citizen`s Action Coalition on Education, the Board of Directors of the Palm Beach Community College Foundation and the Quality Incentives Council.