What is the timeline for ACSA's awards program?
The awards program takes place over a calendar year, beginning in September:
- Late August/early September: Nomination forms are available for the coming year's program online and in printed booklets.
- October to January: Nominations are due to each region by the region's deadline (the deadline is different for every region - see the next question for more information). Regions select their state nominees.
- Early February: Nominations are due to state ACSA. The Awards Committee meets to select recipients, and the recipients are approved by the Board.
- Late March: Recipients for that year are announced.
- June to November: Recipients are featured in EdCal cover stories.
- Early November: Recipients are honored at the Leadership Summit Awards Ceremony.
How do I find out my region's deadline and contact information?
You can find this on nearly every region's web site, accessible from the Regions section of the ACSA web site. We also have a list of current region presidents available for download on the Awards Program web site and in the printed booklet.
Where can I find the nomination forms?
The nomination forms for all ACSA awards can be downloaded as PDFs from the ACSA Awards Program web site (download here) . Printed booklets are also available from the Awards Committee liaison.
Who is on the Awards Committee, and what is the process for recipient selection?
ACSA's past board president chairs the Awards Committee; the chair and four to five committee members (made up of current ACSA board members and region leaders) select the recipients, which are then approved by the Board of Directors.
Do all the nominations go to the regions first?
The Marcus Foster Memorial Award and the Ferd. Kiesel Distinguished Service Award nominations can be submitted either through the regions or directly to the Award Committee liaison.
The nominations for the Administrators of the Year (in 19 job-alike categories), Robert E. Kelly Award and Valuing Diversity Award are first submitted to the regions. Only one nominee in each of those categories can be submitted to state ACSA by each region for consideration.
Each student honored as part of the Every Student Succeeding Program is chosen by the student's region (one student per region per year), as are recipients of the Outstanding Media Coverage of Public Education Award (not limited to one).
Do you have to be an active ACSA member to be nominated?
For nearly all of the awards you do need to be an active ACSA member to be considered eligible. The only exceptions are the Ferd. Kiesel Distinguished Service Award and the Outstanding Media Coverage of Public Education Award (awarded to reporters or media outlets).
Eligible nominees for the Robert E. Kelly Award must be ACSA retired members, and must have been ACSA retired members for three or more years.
Who do I contact if I have more questions?
Contact Emily Senecal, the Awards Committee liaison, at esenecal@acsa.org or (916) 329-3833.
Return to Awards Program homepage