Round Meadow's George Hees Up for Country's Top Teacher

Students and faculty members at were keeping a secret from fifth grade teacher George Hees until Friday morning.

During a special assembly, Hees was shocked when his name was announced in a pool of nominees in this year's Top Teacher Search during a broadcast of LIVE! With Kelly.

The instructor at the Hidden Hills school is one of a dozen teachers throughout the country that viewers can vote for once a day in an online poll ending at noon on Monday.

Two moms were also at Friday's assembly. Anna Diamond and Nazy Arbuckle call themeslves Hees' biggest fans and wrote the letter that earned him the nomination.

Both women are widows and each have a son in Hees' class. They wrote that the teacher has been an inspirational role model, something the boys need in the absence of a father.

"Mr. Hees has not only taught them the normal fifth grade curriculum, Mr. Hees has taught them confidence," Diamond and Arbuckle wrote. "He has given to them his passion for technology, his passion for learning, and more importantly, he has given to them a remarkable male role-model, for the rest of their lives."

After the crowd of students stopped chanting his name, Hees took to the microphone.

"I love this school, I love teaching, I'm blown away by this," he said.

People can vote once a day in the poll. Five finalists will be announced on Tuesday and will be filmed in their classrooms by LIVE! With Kelly producers.

Those finalists will be flown to New York to appear on the program between May 14-18, with a final voting round beginning that weekend.

The winner of Top Teacher Search 2012 will be announced on May 21 and receive a 2013 Ford Fusion as well as $25,000 for his or her school.