Alaska SEED 2026 Mini Retaining Our Outstanding Teachers (ROOTS) Award

Yes, the Alaska SEED Mini ROOTS Award is intended to recognize all those who are working in a licensed or approved child care program, Head Start/Early Head Start, Tribal Head Start, Parents as Teachers, or paraprofessional working in a school district Pre-Elementary classroom. This includes: teachers, administrators, coaches and bus drivers.

In a child care center a caregiver may be at least 16 years of age. In a Family Child Care (FCC) or Group Home a caregiver must be at least 18 years old. 

No. Early educators working in military base child care programs are not eligible for the ROOTS Award.

No. Early educators must be residing in the state of Alaska at the time of application to be eligible for the ROOTS Award.

Applicants must be actively employed as a paid employee (at least 20 hours a week) of a licensed or approved child care facility, school district Pre-Elementary paraprofessionals, Head Start (including tribal), or Parents as Teachers at the time of application in order to be eligible for the 2026 Alaska SEED ROOTS Award. Eligibility is determined at the time of application.

Alaska SEED will communicate with applicants by email. Please check your email regularly, to include the junk folder, to ensure timely receipt of communications from Alaska SEED.

Applicants will receive an automated email confirmation. The email will confirm that the 2026 Alaska SEED Mini ROOTS Award application has been submitted. This email will also include a copy of the submitted 2026 Alaska SEED Mini ROOTS Award application. Please check your email inbox, as well as the junk and spam folders. Please keep a copy of this confirmation email for your records.

Alaska SEED will notify applicants who do not qualify for, or are denied, a 2026 Alaska SEED Mini ROOTS Award. Denials may occur if your application or IRS Form W-9 is not completed by the deadline communicated to you by email.

Alaska SEED will not send notifications to applicants who qualify for the 2026 Alaska SEED ROOTS Award and who have submitted a completed application and IRS Form W-9. Please refer to your email confirmation on application delivery.

Please apply just one time. Immediately after you submit your application, you will receive an automatic confirmation email. Follow these steps to ensure your application is submitted and received:

• Check your email inbox or junk email for a verification email from Alaska SEED.
• Open the email.
• Save this confirmation for your records.

Alaska SEED will contact the applicant by email to follow up on incomplete applications and/or IRS Form W-9s. Applicants will be provided with a deadline by which the 2026 Alaska SEED Mini ROOTS Award application and/or IRS Form W-9 must be completed.

Failure to follow up by submitting the requested information and/or documents by the deadline provided will result in closure of the application and no 2026 Alaska SEED Mini ROOTS Award payment will be sent.

Yes. Alaska SEED needs a completed and signed W-9 to approve your application. If your W-9 is incomplete or is not attached to your application, Alaska SEED will contact you directly.

IRS Form W-9 is a legal document and must be free of any errors. To avoid mistakes, delays, or denial of your application, please ensure your W-9 form is completed neatly and accurately. Use only blue or black ink, or complete the form digitally. Do not scribble, scratch out, write over, erase, use white-out, or spill anything on the form. If an error occurs, please download a new blank W-9 and start again.

If your W-9 is incomplete, you will need to resubmit it. Please follow these steps to ensure your information is accurate:

• Download the W-9 form here and save it to your computer.
• You are considered an individual when using this form. Remember to complete the form with your personal information, using your first and last name and your social security number.
• There is an example of a completed W-9 within the application form.
• Follow the instructions on the W-9 form and complete the following sections:
  • 1: Full legal name (as it appears on your government-issued social security card)
  • 2: Leave the business name section blank
  • 3: Select “Individual/sole proprietor or single-member LLC”
  • 5: Address (must match personal mailing address on 2026 Alaska SEED ROOTS Application)
  • 6: City, State, Zip
  • Part I: Social Security Number (not an Employer Identification Number)
  • Part II: Signature & Date
• Attach a completed and signed W-9 form to your application.

No. Please submit a new W-9 Form.

Please note, this is a legal document and must be free of any errors. To avoid mistakes, delays, or denial of your application, please ensure your W-9 form is completed neatly and accurately. Use only blue or black ink, or complete the form digitally. Do not scribble, scratch out, write over, erase, use white-out, or spill anything on the form. If an error occurs, please download a new blank W-9 and start again.

There is an example of a completed W-9 within the application form. Be sure to complete the following sections of the IRS Form W-9:

1: Full legal name (as it appears on your government-issued social security card)

2: Leave the business name section blank

3: Select “Individual/sole proprietor or single member LLC.”

5: Address (please use personal mailing address)

6: City, State, Zip

Part I: Social Security Number (not an Employer Identification Number)

Part II: Signature & Date

The Alaska SEED ROOTS Award is taxed as income. Taxes are not taken out upon distribution. Recipients are responsible for claiming the Alaska SEED ROOTS Award when they file their income taxes for 2026 and paying any applicable tax.

If you receive this award, it is considered personal income for 2026. Please check with the IRS, an accountant, or a tax specialist to understand your personal tax implications.

To estimate your taxes or prepay, visit the IRS website.

• Pay as You Go, So You Won’t Owe Guide
• Estimating Taxes
• Tax Withholding Estimator

Yes, you will receive a 1099 Form from thread’s finance department.

You can expect to receive your Alaska SEED Mini ROOTS Award by December 31, 2026.

A $32 stop payment fee will be deducted when a replacement check must be issued for lost or misplaced checks or checks which are undeliverable when an incorrect mailing address is supplied.

The 2026 Alaska SEED Mini ROOTS Award is funded by the State of Alaska Preschool Development Grant B-5.

Yes. All applicants who apply to join the Alaska SEED Registry must be 16 years old and working or learning in the early childhood and/or school-age profession to be eligible.

To confirm your membership status in the Alaska SEED Registry, please refer to your most recent Alaska SEED Career Ladder certificate for your expiration date. You can also log in to the ServicePortal to check your status.

You will receive an email notification that Alaska SEED has received your Alaska SEED Registry application. Alaska SEED Registry applications are being processed as usual, within 30 business days in the order they are received.

No, you cannot upload training or education documents to your Alaska SEED profile if your registry status is pending. Once your registry has been evaluated and you receive your Alaska SEED certificate, you can log in and upload your documents for reevaluation.

Yes. If your Alaska SEED Registry application has been submitted in full and is marked with the status “Pending” (in review by the Alaska SEED team), you are eligible to apply for the Alaska SEED ROOTS Award.

No, your ROOTS application will still be processed with your “submitted” application that is pending.

Yes, but you must apply for both the Alaska SEED Registry and 2026 Mini ROOTS Award at the same time. Join the Alaska SEED Registry here.

No. Your Alaska SEED level does not affect the amount of your ROOTS Award.