School Recognition Program
2004 - 2005 (Information for Schools)

Eligibility: Elementary Grades (K-7 )

Participants in the School Leadership Centre (SLC) at UBC and members of the Ministry of Education of the BC government acknowledge that there are many excellent schools, dedicated teachers, and successful students in this province. In order to recognize some of the many achievements in a more tangible way, the Ministry of Education has partnered with the SLC to design and administer a recognition program for the current year. The funding for this program comes from the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Education.

The following is a description of this year's program, the application process, and the criteria for making decisions on awards (each award will be in the amount of $2,500 and will be available to the receiving school in January 2005. The 2004 - 2005 School Recognition Program is based on the following beliefs about educational excellence and educational change.

We believe that

• to be sustainable over the long term, change and innovation are collaborative and not isolated,
• educational excellence may be demonstrated in many ways using multiple criteria,
• student learning and success take many forms and may be demonstrated in various ways,
• no school can be considered truly successful if any sub-group of its population is failing to thrive within the educational environment of that school,
• it is important for educators to collect baseline data, to monitor school reform efforts, and to know whether a change is having the anticipated effects and whether there are also unanticipated outcomes,
• change must be carefully planned and implemented – no school can change everything well at the same time, and
• because improvement occurs over time, success must also be measured over time.

Application Process

Teachers and/or administrators in schools that have been engaged in specific school improvement initiatives at the K-7 grades, who have planned a further project designed to enhance student learning, and who believe they fulfil the criteria listed below, are invited to complete the attached application and return it to the School Leadership Centre as indicated on the form, with all sections filled in and all required signatures in place, on or before 5 pm, October 27, 2004.

Criteria for the School Recognition Programme 2004- 2005

1. A school must have been engaged in a school improvement initiative and, have a proven record of improvement and/or a plan that offers high potential for improvement in student learning, that could be facilitated or enhanced by the receipt of $2500.
2. Applicants must demonstrate that they have carefully considered how their proposed plan addresses the unique needs of their student body, how their evaluation plan will provide evidence related to the project's goals, and how they will communicate what they have learned.
3. Applicants are encouraged to provide evidence in support of their application.
4. Clarity and feasibility of the project and evidence of a consistent and coherent plan for assessing its long term impact will be considered.
5. A plan that demonstrates collaboration between school constituencies ( for example, parents, teachers, students, community, administration, district, or between schools) is desirable.
6. Commitment to providing a summary report including: utilisation of funding, implementation, and progress of the project, by July 15, 2005.
7. Schools that received a School Recognition Award in 2003-2004 may apply for a 2004-2005 award provided all the previous award's requirements were met.

Apply on-line

Download application