Santa Clara,
CA (October
30,
2003) --
Intel Corporation,
Scholastic Administr@tor and the Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Foundation, announce a national award program to recognize outstanding K-12 schools in the United States - The 21st Century Schools of Distinction Award. This new program will highlight the successes of our best schools and celebrate their use of technology, the benefits of strong teamwork and their development of excellent classroom teachers. The Intel Foundation will award more than $200,000 to the honored schools.
“The acknowledged schools will become national models of excellence with their methods promoted widely, so that other schools may learn from their examples and emulate their success,” said Wendy Hawkins, Intel director of education. “The dissemination of best practices is the cornerstone of the new program, helping schools around the nation achieve excellence.”
"Our readers are results-driven school leaders looking for replicable examples,” said Bernadette Grey, Editor-in-Chief,
Scholastic Administr@tor magazine. “We are always focused on the school communities that are thriving and the students who are achieving despite all of the notorious (please use another word for notorious -- maybe well-known or just obstacles?) obstacles. The 21st Century Schools of Distinction Award program allows us to identify and honor those who are triumphing on a daily basis in schools.”
The “Best of the Best” award will go to two schools, each of which will receive $25,000. Schools winning this award must have a comprehensive program and consistently achieve high academic standards. Winners in the remaining nine categories will each receive $10,000. All winners will be profiled in
Scholastic Administr@tor magazine throughout 2004. In addition, each school will receive an all-expense-paid trip to the award ceremony, in June 2004, for the school principal and two faculty members. Schools will also receive logo materials to promote their success. Applications are due by December 31, 2003.
There will be a total of 20 awards. In addition to applying for the “Best of the Best” award, schools may apply for one of two awards in one of these nine categories:
Academic Excellence - The school has shown significant academic gains regarding test scores, graduation rates or college entrance rates.
Community Involvement - The school demonstrates the commitment to the important role that the community plays in supporting learning, and has implemented strategies that are effective in involving all segments of the community.
Innovative Use of Technology - The school has shown innovative use of technology among students, teachers, administrators and/or parents.
Involved Parents/Teachers- The school is committed to parent involvement and has implemented strategies that effectively involve parents from all segments of the community.
Partnership -The school is involved with national and local businesses, universities, public and private institutions, and resource centers to further academic improvement.
Professional Development - Professional development plays a vital role and the school has a culture that encourages teachers, administrators and staff to work together for professional growth.
Teamwork - There is clear and compelling evidence of collaborative interaction between the school and district leadership that results in improved teaching and learning.
Technology Implementation - The school has shown practical improvement in the implementation of technology in a specific area of the school program or curriculum.
Technology Excellence - The school uses technology effectively in a wide array of areas and incorporates the National Education Technology Standards for all students. The judging process will be overseen by the Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Foundation staff that has worked with the U.S. Department of Education for more than 15 years as review panelists, site visitors and members of the Select Panel for the National Blue Ribbon School Awards Program.
“The 21st Century Schools of Distinction Award is the fulfillment of one of my greatest desires: to establish a program that can drive national improvement, spotlighting model schools and their wealth of ideas and practices to increase opportunities for all schools and ultimately all students,” said Bart Teal, executive director of the Blue Ribbon Schools Foundation.
The 21st Century Schools of Distinction Award is open to any U.S. public, private, charter, parochial, Department of Defense or Bureau of Indian Affairs school at the elementary, middle or high school level. Schools can apply directly at
www.blueribbonschools.com/award . Intel collaborates with educators around the world to improve the quality of engineering, mathematics, science and technology education to help students develop the higher-level thinking skills they need to participate and succeed in a knowledge-based economy. For more information, visit
www.intel.com/education .
Scholastic Administr@tor provides insights into effective technology and leadership strategies through real-world examples from leading school districts. By facilitating a dialogue among administrators on the best practices for integrating technology and education, the magazine serves as a clearinghouse for innovative ways of using technology in schools.
Scholastic Administr@tor reaches 100,000 readers that include superintendents and assistant superintendents, principals, school board presidents, chief technology officers/tech coordinators and more.
The Scholastic Administr@tor web site is
www.scholastic.com/administrator .
Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Additional information about Intel is available at
www.intel.com/pressroom.
Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others