The American Council of Teachers of Russian designates ACTR Russian Scholar Laureates each school year. Every school with an established Russian program may designate one out­standing sophomore or junior for this award. Stu­dents in other years are not eligible, and there can be only one award per school. Any school that has more than 100 students studying Russian may nominate two students.

1. The nominee must be a tenth- or eleventh-grade student of the Russian language in a high school in the United States during the academic year of the award;
2. A principal or headmaster must nominate the student and certify his or her eligibility;
3. The nomination documents must include: 

• a high-quality, portrait-style color digital photo to be uploaded to the nomination Google Form
  
• the student’s home mailing and e-mail ad­dresses;
• the current Russian teacher’s name and the list of Russian courses.

The student’s Russian teacher should complete an online application-nomination by clicking the "Submit the nomination" button. The nomination must be completed and received no later than June 30 each year. Only online completed application-nominations are accepted.

The Russian Scholar Laureate from each school receives:
- The student receives a letter in October;
- The date of receiving an award depends on the time of publication of ACTR newsletter:

• an official lapel pin to wear and a certificate of achievement suitable for framing;
• recognition in the form of letters to the school teacher and principal or headmaster con­firming the award;
• inclusion in a nationally published an­nouncement of the award in the ACTR Letter [the newsletter of the American Council of Teachers of Russian] and on the Website of the Ameri­can Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and may appear in other media.

The award announcement will in­clude the student’s photo, name, school, and Russian teacher’s name. The student’s address will not be made public but is need­ed for possible correspondence.

There is no fee for participation, but teachers must be current members of the American Council of Teachers of Russian by the decision of the ACTR Board of Directors.

Encourage your school administrator to nominate a student!