Houghton Mifflin Harcourt – Hmh Teacher Contest Sweepstakes

HMH TEACHER CONTEST NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER.

ENTRANTS MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 U.S. & D.C., WHO ARE 18 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER. NOMINEES MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 U.S. & D.C., WHO ARE 18 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER WHO ARE CURRENTLY EDUCATORS OF GRADES K-12 IN GOOD STANDING WITH THEIR DISTRICT, TEACHING FOR THE SCHOLASTIC YEAR 2023 -2024 AT THE TIME OF ENTRY AND ARE PERMITTED UNDER THE RULES OF THEIR EMPLOYER TO ACCEPT THE PRIZE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

CONTEST PERIOD: The HMH Teacher Contest (“Contest”) begins at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) on March 13, 2023 and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on April 7, 2023 (“Contest Period”).

ELIGIBILITY: Entrants must be legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C., who are 18 years of age and older (“Entrants”). Nominees must be legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C., who are 18 years of age and older who are currently educators of grades K-12, in good standing with their district, teaching for the 2023 – 2024 scholastic year and permitted under the rules of their employer, including without limitation conflicts of interest and ethics rules, to accept the prize as of date of entry (“Nominee”). Void where prohibited by law. Employees of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (“HMH”) (“Sponsor”) and their subsidiaries, and each of their respective parents, subsidiaries, divisions, promotional partners, agencies, affiliates, advertising, and promotion agencies (collectively, “Sponsor and its agencies”) and the immediate family members of their employees or those residing in the same household are not eligible. Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws.

HOW TO ENTER: During the Contest Period, you, as the Entrant may enter via the Website, as instructed and defined below and you may nominate an eligible Nominee (“Teacher”) to win a prize. Teacher must teach in a school that must be an accredited K-12 school located in one of the 50 United States or Washington, D.C. Home schools are not eligible. During the Contest Period, visit HMHlighthouseawards.com (the “Website”) and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the entry form submitting your first name, last name, email address, state of residence, and date of birth, as well as the Teacher you are nominating in your entry’s first name, last name, email address, school name, school district, teaching subject (if applicable), phone number (optional), grade they are currently teaching, along with a statement in 100 words or less that describes how that Teacher embodied at least one of the characteristics of a human lighthouse and uplifted their students and community during the 2022-2023 school year. You may nominate yourself as long as you meet the Nominee eligibility. Entry must include at least one of the lighthouse characteristics and explain how the teacher presented this quality (collectively, “Entry”). Human light house characteristics include:

Demonstrates SelflessnessDay in and day out, they bring to kindness and generosity to their work. Never seeming to have a bad day, they always seem to lift the rooms they are in.

Guides Others Through Uncertain TimesWhen tough times have come or an unexpected crisis has arrived without warning, this teacher is the one who leads the way to safe harbor.

Is Constant and ConsistentSeeking neither reward nor recognition, this teacher provides certainty and security through a steady and calming presence.

Turns Doubts into DestinationsThis teacher thrives by helping others overcome their self-doubt to find success. When others don’t quite know where to turn, this teacher is the one they turn to.

Helps Others See Possibilities over CircumstancesHelping others change their vantage point, this teacher is known for being solution-oriented especially when presented with adverse outside circumstances.

Has the Courage to EncourageIn the face of their own personal challenges this teacher nevertheless remained invested in their classroom and to their school community.

Embodies InnovationWith limited resources this teacher still delivers a wonderful student experience. Creative and inventive, they always seem to find a way.

Empowers and Inspires Through ExampleUnsung hero of their school and/or community this teacher often flies below the radar.

Exemplifies a Spirit of ResiliencyTireless, resolved and upbeat, this teacher personifies what it means to perseveres through strife and struggle to bring healing and support

Sees Beyond the SurfaceIn understanding that the first picture isn’t the entire story, this teacher goes beyond first reactions to discover the bigger picture and ultimately changed the trajectory of a situation.

Entrants may submit multiple Entries; however, each Entry submitted to the Website must be unique and about a different Teacher. Duplicate submissions will be disqualified. Entries may be submitted by one Entrant only and Entrants are not permitted to create a team and submit an Entry together. For the purposes of this Contest, a “day” is defined as beginning at 12:00 a.m. ET each day and ending at 11:59 p.m. ET each day. All Entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on April 7, 2023 to be eligible. Entry must be in English. Written statements submitted through the form on the Website must be 100 words or less. All Entries must comply with the below Entry Requirements to be eligible. Any Entry that violates this section or is otherwise objectionable (as determined solely by Sponsor), will not be considered and will be disqualified.
Entry Requirements:

The Entry must not have been submitted previously in a Contest or promotion of any kind or previously exhibited or displayed publicly (i.e., disclosed beyond your immediate circle of friends and family) through any means.
Entry must be in keeping with Sponsor’s image and may not be offensive, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.
Any Entry deemed inappropriate or unsuitable, in Sponsor’s sole discretion, will be disqualified. Entries must not contain material that is inappropriate, indecent (including, but not limited to, nudity, or pornography), profane, obscene, hateful, tortious, defamatory, slanderous, libelous (including words or symbols that are widely considered offensive to individuals of a certain race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic group), violent, self-mutilating (e.g., relating to murder, the sales of weapons, cruelty, abuse, etc.), or illegal (e.g., underage drinking, substance abuse, computer hacking, etc.).
The Entry must not contain or depict material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination, including without limitation, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age. The Entry must not contain or depict material that is threatening to any person, place, business, group, or world peace or contain words or symbols that are widely considered offensive to individuals of a certain race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic group.
The Entry must not contain any content that infringes or may infringe third party rights, including, without limitation, any copyright, name, trademark, logo, trade dress, or other personal or proprietary right of any person living or deceased (including but not limited to rights of privacy or publicity or portrayal in a false light) or entity or make reference to any commercial/corporate advertising (including but not limited to corporate logos, brand names, charities, slogans, political, or religious statements), or be otherwise objectionable. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, publicly displayed and publicly accessible Sponsor content, materials, or products are permitted to be displayed in Entries submitted for this Contest.
The Entry must not include any representation of celebrities, athletes, musicians, or any other third-party (public or private), include any anti-social, political or religious groups, any commercial solicitation or promotional materials or name, address, phone number, or URL address. Entries must not contain advertisements, personal solicitations or commercial solicitations.
Automated, script, macro or robotic Entries will be disqualified.
The Entry must not contain viruses, Trojan horses, worms, bots, spyware or any other computer code that is intended to damage, interfere with, or surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or information.
Entrants and all submitted Entries must be in keeping with Sponsor’s image as determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion, or Entry may be disqualified from the Contest. The Entry must not disparage Sponsor or persons or organizations associated with Sponsor.
Any Entry not in compliance with the above and which does not meet the Website’s requirements will be disqualified.

JUDGING AND WINNER DETERMINATION: At the conclusion of the Contest Period, all eligible Entries will be judged by a panel of qualified representatives selected by Sponsor based on the following judging criteria: Adherence to Contest Theme (40%); Persuasiveness of Entry (40%); and Originality and Creativity (20%) to determine the ten (10) highest scoring Entries. In the event of a tie, the Sponsor will judge the tied Entries based on Adherence to Contest Theme (100%), to determine the winner(s). Decisions of Sponsor/Administrator/judges are final with respect to all matters relating to the Contest.

TRANSFER OF RIGHTS: By submitting an Entry, Entrants acknowledge and agree that their Entries become the property of the Sponsor, which thereby has the right to edit, adapt, modify, reproduce, promote and otherwise use Entries in any way it sees fit.

WINNER NOTIFICATION/VERIFICATION: The potential winning Teachers (depicted in winning Entry) (“winning Teacher”) will be notified via email to the email address provided on the entry form. Potential winning Teachers will then each be required to electronically sign and return a Declaration of Eligibility, Liability/Publicity Release (except where prohibited by law) and transfer of Rights, if applicable and only if Teacher is also the Entrant (“Declaration Package”) within three (3) business days of notification attempt or winner status will be forfeited and an alternate potential winning Teacher will be determined and notified as indicated above. Declaration Package will require potential winning Teacher to confirm their eligibility to be a winning Teacher and include additional information about their teaching status and availability to travel for the prize. Return of any Declaration Package as undeliverable, if any portion of the Declaration Packages are not received within the required time periods, or if a potential winning Teacher is deemed ineligible, potential winning Teacher will be disqualified and an alternate will be determined. Sponsor and Administrator reserve the right to require Teachers to agree to provide information necessary for Administrator to conduct a background check to confirm they are eligible as defined herein and Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any non-eligible Entrant/Teacher.

PRIZES. Ten (10) Grand Prizes (awarded to Teachers) – Round trip economy air transportation for winner only from major airport nearest winner’s home to Sponsor-specified destination and two (2) nights hotel accommodations, admission to attend Model Schools, where winner will be formally recognized at an HMH-hosted breakfast, luncheon or dinner event (“Event”); ARV for each Grand Prize will not exceed $2,500; Total ARV for all Grand Prizes: $22,500. By accepting a prize, winning Teachers grant consent to use of their name, photograph, and likeness (if applicable) to be used for advertising and promotion purposes without additional compensation, except where prohibited. Prizes are not transferable; no substitutions or cash equivalents are allowed. Limit one (1) prize per winning Teacher. Prizes are not redeemable for cash. Taxes related to the prizes are the responsibility of the Teacher. No responsibility or liability is assumed for damages, losses or injury resulting from acceptance or use of any prize. Grand Prize travel must occur on dates specified by Sponsor surrounding the Event. The actual retail value of the Grand Prize may vary depending on winner’s city of departure and any difference in value will not be awarded. Admission to the Event has no retail value. Airline carrier’s regulations and conditions apply. Trip may not be combined with any other offer and travel may not qualify for frequent flyer miles. All travelers must have valid travel documents prior to departure (i.e., REAL ID, passport or other TSA-approved ID; visit www.tsa.gov for a list of TSA-approved IDs). All other expenses and costs, not expressly listed above, including, but not limited to, taxes, insurance, telephone charges, room service and laundry services, personal expenses, gratuities, entertainment, transfers, incidental charges, or any other items not specifically described in these Official Rules, any transportation not mentioned within the above Grand Prize description and all expenses for any of the foregoing are the sole responsibility of the Grand Prize winner. Sponsor reserves the right to award ground transportation in lieu of air transportation if Grand Prize winner resides within one hundred fifty (150) miles of Event and any difference in value will not be awarded. Sponsor reserves the right to remove or to deny entry to a winner who engages in a non-sportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person at the Event. Winner must also pass any required medical testing and comply with any additional requirements, at any time, that may be required or recommended by any government agency, venue, or Sponsor, including without limitation, passing one or more COVID-19 antigen and screening tests, and testing negative for COVID-19 or having been vaccinated against COVID-19.

GENERAL RULES: Sponsor is not responsible for any compatibility issues with Entrant’s device/browser used for Entry. Entries become the property of Sponsor upon receipt and will not be acknowledged or returned. In the event of a dispute regarding any Entry, that Entry will be deemed made by the authorized account holder of the email address submitted at the time of the Entry. Entries specifying an invalid, non-working, or inactive email address may be disqualified and deemed ineligible to win. No information regarding Entries, other than as otherwise set forth in these Official Rules or on the Website, will be disclosed. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, interrupted or unavailable network server or other connection; miscommunications; failed phone or computer or telephone transmissions; technical failure; jumbled, scrambled or misdirected transmissions; late, lost, incomplete, delayed, or misdirected Entries; or other error of any kind whether human, mechanical, or electronic. CAUTION: Any attempt to deliberately damage any web site/device, or undermine the legitimate operations of the Contest, is a violation of the criminal and civil laws. Should such an attempt be made, the Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such participant to the fullest extent permitted by law and to disqualify such participant from the Contest. In the event the Contest is compromised by virus, bug, unauthorized human intervention, or other causes beyond the control of Sponsor that corrupts or impairs the administration, security, fairness, or proper play of the Contest, Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to suspend or terminate the Contest and award prizes based on the judging criteria from among all eligible Entries received prior to cancellation. Any user who, in Sponsor’s sole discretion, posts profanity, pornography or other objectionable content may be removed by Sponsor and from participating in the Contest. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, corrupted, or incomplete Entries. Proof of submission is not proof of receipt by Sponsor. By participating in this Contest, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor/Administrator. The Sponsor and its agencies are not responsible for technical, hardware, software or telephone malfunctions of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, or failed, incorrect, incomplete, inaccurate, garbled or delayed electronic communications caused by the user or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in this Contest or by any human error which may occur in the processing of the Entries in this Contest. The Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual that tampers or attempts to tamper with the Entry process or the operation of the Contest or Website; violates the Official Rules; or acts in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. The Sponsor and each of its affiliates, officers, directors, agents, and employees, will have no liability or responsibility for any claim arising in connection with participation in this Contest or the prizes awarded. Teachers assume all liability for any injury or damage caused, or claimed to be caused, by participation in this Contest or use or redemption of a prize.

DISPUTES: The Contest and the Official Rules shall be exclusively governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States of America, without regard to conflicts of law provisions. Entrants submit to exclusive personal jurisdiction in Commonwealth of Massachusetts and agree that any dispute shall be brought in the state and federal courts in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred; including costs associated with entering the Contest, but shall not include attorneys’ fees. Winning Teacher hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental, and consequential damages and/or any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. If any provision of these Official Rules is deemed to be invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, such provision will be deemed to be modified or restricted to the extent and in the manner necessary to render the same valid and enforceable and these Rules will be construed and enforced to the maximum extent permitted by law as if such provision had been originally incorporated herein as so modified or restricted, or as if such provision had not been originally incorporated herein, as the case may be.

PRIVACY POLICY: Information collected by Sponsor in connection with this Contest may be used by Sponsor and shared with third parties involved in administration of the Contest in accordance with the online Privacy Policy posted at https://www.hmhco.com/privacy-policy. The entrant agrees to the collection, processing and storage of his/her personal data by Sponsor for the purposes of the Contest.

WINNERS LIST: To receive a list of winning Teachers by email, send an email to: Winners@dja.com with “HMH Teacher Contest 20-2766-10” as the subject line. Requests must be received by April 30, 2023. Winners List will be sent after all prizes have been awarded.

SPONSOR/ADMINISTRATOR: The Sponsor of the Contest is Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,125 High Street, Boston, MA 02110. The Administrator of the Contest is Don Jagoda Associates, Inc., 100 Marcus Drive, Melville, NY 11747.