School Challenge — Move A Nation | We Love Teachers Worldwide
Registration open · Schools enrolling now

Does your school have what it takes?

The We Love Teachers Worldwide School Challenge is the biggest school spirit competition in America — and it lives or dies by how much your school wants it. Register your team. Challenge your rivals. Win the national title.

10+ Cities competing
Any school In any city — or virtually
Oct 10 One day to decide it all
Free To enter as a school team
Teachers · Parents · Students · Alumni — all count In-person OR virtual Minimum 4 participants to register #MoveANation
October 10, 2026 · Race day countdown
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The national school challenge

Your school. Your teachers. Your crown.

Every school that participates gets on the national leaderboard. The school with the most participants on October 10th wins the National School Spirit Award — and the bragging rights that come with it. Any school. Any city. Any size. The playing field is effort, not enrollment.

How it works

Four steps to the
national title.

Any school anywhere in the country can enter. In-person teams join a city race. Virtual teams run from home. Everyone competes on the same national leaderboard.

01
Register your school team
Complete the team registration below. You need a team captain (teacher, parent, or school rep) and a minimum of 4 committed participants. There is no cost to register as a school team.
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02
Rally your community
Share the challenge with teachers, parents, students, and alumni. Every person who registers under your school team name counts toward your total — whether they run in a city or virtually from anywhere in the country.
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03
Run on October 10th
Your team runs. In-person teams join their nearest city race. Virtual teams run their 5K anywhere and submit their time at moveanation.org/live. Every finisher adds to your school's count on the live national leaderboard.
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04
Win the Spirit Award
The school with the most participants wins the National School Spirit Award, announced at the finish line and across all Move A Nation platforms. The winner becomes the school to beat in 2027.

What's at stake

Win something worth winning.

Three awards. One national title. Plus the kind of community pride that money can't buy and nobody can take away.

🥇
National School Spirit Award
The top school by total participant count across all cities and virtual runners. The school that wanted it most — and showed up. Announced live on race day and featured on moveanation.org all year.
National champions · Year-round recognition · Trophy shipped to school
🏆
City Spirit Award
One winner per city — the school with the most participants in each race market. If you can't win nationally, you can still own your city. Ten cities, ten champions.
City champion · Announced at local finish line · City recognition all year
⭐
Most Spirited Virtual School
The virtual school team with the most participants from outside the 10 host cities. For the school that proves geography is not a limitation — just a detail. Your city, your time, your title.
Virtual champion · Featured on national leaderboard · 2027 priority registration

National leaderboard

This is what race day
looks like live.

On October 10th, the leaderboard updates in real time as participants cross finish lines and submit virtual times. Every school watching sees exactly where they stand — and exactly how far they are from the title.

National School Challenge · Live Standings · October 10, 2026 LIVE
1
Roosevelt Elementary
Atlanta, GA
124
2
Lincoln High School
Chicago, IL
98
3
Westside Academy
Houston, TX
79
4
Maple Grove Middle VIRTUAL
Denver, CO · Virtual team
64
5
Jefferson Prep
Washington, DC area
56
6
Southside Charter VIRTUAL
Miami, FL · Virtual team
47
Live updates every 5 minutes on race day · 10 cities + virtual teams nationwide

Notice rank 4 and rank 6 — virtual schools from Denver and Miami competing head-to-head with in-person teams from Houston and DC. Distance is not a disadvantage. It's an opportunity.

Make it spread

The challenge doesn't stop
at your school gates.

The schools that win this aren't the ones who quietly sign up. They're the ones who make it a movement inside their school — and dare other schools to match them. Here's how.

📣
Nominate and challenge a rival school
After registering, call out a rival school by name on social media. Tag them. Dare them to beat your team count. Use the hashtag. The schools that get challenged are more likely to sign up — and every school that enters makes the competition more meaningful for everyone.
#MoveANation Challenge
📱
The "We Run For" post
Every participant posts a photo holding a sign that says "I run for [teacher's name]" before race day. Tag your school and tag the teacher. When teachers see students publicly honoring them, they share it. When teachers share it, the whole school sees it. The post does its own recruiting.
#IRunFor
🎽
School uniform race day
Coordinate your team to wear your school colors over or under your race shirt on October 10th. Take a group photo before the start. Post it with your school name and team count. School pride in a race photo is one of the most shareable things on social media — and it shows rivals exactly what they're up against.
#SchoolColors
🏫
Get the principal to announce it
A single morning announcement from the principal — "Our school is in the national school challenge for We Love Teachers Worldwide and we need every teacher, parent, and student to sign up" — is worth more than any marketing campaign. We provide a customizable announcement script. Use it. The schools that go through official channels win.
School announcement template available

School spirit in action

Schools that show up
for their teachers.

Every school that participates has a story. Here are a few that show what it looks like when a community decides to honor its educators together.

🏫
Roosevelt Elementary
Atlanta, GA · In-person team

"Our PTA shared the challenge in the school newsletter and we had 80 sign-ups in three days. Teachers were in tears at the finish line. We're coming back in 2027 with twice the team."

🌍
Maple Grove Middle
Denver, CO · Virtual team

"We're not near any of the cities but we had 64 people run from Denver, Littleton, and Aurora on the same morning. We finished 4th nationally. Next year we're going for 1st."

🎓
Lincoln High School
Chicago, IL · In-person team

"A junior posted a 'We Run For Mr. Thomas' photo and it got 300 shares. The whole school saw it. By the end of the week we had 98 registered. Mr. Thomas ran with us."

Challenge rules

Simple rules.
Serious competition.

1
Any school can enter — anywhere in the country
You don't have to be near one of the 10 host cities. Virtual school teams compete on the same national leaderboard as in-person teams. A school in Boise competes head-to-head with a school in Atlanta.
2
Minimum 4 participants to register as a school team
Teachers, parents, students (18+), school staff, and alumni all count. Everyone who registers under your school name counts toward your total — there is no maximum. The more you recruit, the higher you climb.
3
Everyone must complete the 5K on October 10th
In-person participants run their city race. Virtual participants run their 5K anywhere and submit their time at moveanation.org/live by midnight ET on October 10th. Submissions after midnight do not count toward the competition total.
4
Registration for individual participants is separate from team registration
Your school team captain registers the school here. Each individual participant then registers for their race (in-person or virtual) at moveanation.org and selects your school team name during checkout. Both steps are required to count.
5
Team registration closes September 20th
Individual participants can continue to join your team through October 1st (packet shipping deadline). After that, digital-only registrations are accepted until 11:59pm ET on October 9th. Register your school now to maximize your recruitment window.

Register your school team

Get your school on the board.

This registers your school as a team in the national challenge. After submitting, each participant on your team must individually register for the race at moveanation.org and select your school name.

Fields marked * are required.

School information

This helps us plan — not a commitment
Optional — helps with district-level recognition

Team captain information

All team communications go here

Your challenge

We'll give them a heads-up. Let the rivalry begin.
We'll feature your school's dedication in the teacher stories section

After submitting, we'll send your team captain a confirmation with your school's unique team code. Share that code with your team members when they register individually at moveanation.org.

🏫

Your school is in.

Confirmation sent to your email — including your school's unique team code. Share it with your team so every registration counts toward your total. Now go recruit.

Move A Nation · We Love Teachers Worldwide · October 10, 2026

How individual participants join your team
After you register your school here, each team member registers individually at moveanation.org. During checkout they select their race type (in-person or virtual) and enter your school's team code.
Register your school below
Receive your unique team code
Share with teachers, parents, alumni
Every entry with your code counts
Principal announcement template
The most effective recruitment tool is a school announcement. We have a customizable script ready to send — just ask.
Virtual teams compete equally
Not near a host city? Every virtual participant who runs on October 10th and submits their time by midnight counts toward your school's total. Denver schools compete with Atlanta schools. Distance is irrelevant — effort is everything.
Learn about virtual participation →
📅 Key dates
School registration opens Now
School registration closes Sept 20
Packet shipping deadline Oct 1
Virtual registration closes Oct 9
Race day Oct 10
Time submission closes Oct 10 midnight

Common questions

School challenge FAQ

Does my school have to be near one of the 10 cities?

No. Schools from anywhere in the United States can compete virtually. Your team members run their 5K on October 10th from their own neighborhoods and submit their times at moveanation.org/live. Virtual school teams compete on the same national leaderboard as in-person teams.

Who counts as a team member?

Teachers, school staff, parents, guardians, students aged 18 and older, and school alumni all count. There is no cap on team size — the more you recruit, the better your chances.

Is there a cost to enter the school challenge?

Registering your school team is free. Individual participants pay the standard race registration fee (in-person or virtual) when they sign up. The school challenge entry itself carries no additional cost.

Can we have team members in multiple cities?

Yes. A school with alumni in multiple cities — some running in Atlanta, some in Chicago, some virtually from Los Angeles — all count toward the same school total. Your team is wherever your community is.

How does the winner get announced?

The National School Spirit Award winner is announced on the live national leaderboard at moveanation.org/live once all October 10th time submissions close at midnight ET. The winning school is featured across all Move A Nation social platforms and receives their trophy and certificate within two weeks of race day.

Can a school enter more than one team?

Each school registers as one team with one combined count. If you want to organize internal sub-teams (by grade, department, or building), that's great for your own motivation — but the leaderboard tracks total school participation, not sub-teams.

What if we want to use this as a school wellness or PE program?

We encourage it and can help. Contact us at coach@efitphany.com with the subject "School Wellness Program" and we'll work with you on how to integrate the challenge into your school's wellness or PE curriculum — including training plans and classroom-ready materials.