It's safe to say that 2017 has been nothing short of tumultuous with a new administration bringing in a changing of the guard at the U.S. Department of Education, new laws going into effect, and technology continuing to shift pedagogical approaches and school operations.
On Monday, Dec. 4, Education Dive: K-12 will roll out the 2017 K-12 Dive Awards. Taken together, the awards recognize the industry’s top innovators and disruptors. These administrators, districts and schools, trends and breakthroughs are transforming the industry and shaping what’s to come.
Following months of planning and research, we've revamped the awards with a simplified list of six categories: District of the Year, Administrator of the Year, Most Disruptive Idea, Partnership of the Year, Obsession of the Year, and Policy of the Year.
Read on for a sneak peak at the nominees for this year's awards, as well as the criteria used to consider them. And while you wait for this year's winners to be announced, take a look back at the 2016 K-12 Dive Awards.
District of the Year
Criteria: A district that has been leading in a specific buzz area, setting an example of how to do things in the context of “21st Century learning.”
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Vail and Benson School Districts (Arizona) [co-nomination]
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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (North Carolina)
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Long Beach Unified School District (California)
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Albemarle County Public Schools (Virginia)
Administrator of the Year
Criteria: Someone who’s collaborative, motivating and encourages staff to take leadership positions and come forth with ideas. Open to teacher agency, willing to take risks on new, innovative ideas, but has a “North Star” and doesn’t just jump on the latest fads.
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Stefanie Phillips - superintendent of Santa Ana Unified School District (CA)
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David W. Gaston - superintendent of Charles City Public Schools (VA)
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Richard Gordon IV - principal of Paul Robeson High School (Philadelphia, PA)
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Steve Chiaro - superintendent of Warren City Schools (OH)
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Robert Zywicki - superintendent of Weehawken Township School District (NJ)
Most Disruptive Idea
Criteria: Trend with the biggest impact on how schools are operating.
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Project-based learning
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Micro-credentials for professional development
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District collaboratives/coalitions/cooperatives
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Design thinking
Partnership of the Year
Criteria: A collaborative relationship that’s aligned to a school’s goals and desired objectives/outcomes for students.
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NYC Schools and Warby Parker vision screening and eyeglasses program
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Drexel University and School District of Philadelphia resources partnership
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Wagner College and Port Richmond High School college readiness partnership (Staten Island, NY)
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Rutgers University and Camden, NJ, civic engagement partnership
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Berea College Rural School Improvement Partnership (KY)
Obsession of the Year
Criteria: A strategy or approach rolling out widely, particularly if every district seems to have initiatives on it or there are panels popping up at several conferences addressing the topic.
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Teacher agency/autonomy
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Media/news literacy
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Social-emotional learning
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Improvement science
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Flexible/open seating
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Personalized learning
Policy of the Year
Criteria: Has the biggest impact on how schools are operating.
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Every Student Succeeds Act
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State teacher shortage policy efforts
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Lunch-shaming bills
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Transgender bathroom rights
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Mobile device usage
