Promoting Excellence

Awards and honors aren't just for the recipient; they are a flag to wave to show off student and staff accomplishments.

• Academic boosters club. Some schools have successfully drawn the support of members of the business community by forming booster clubs. Three common club goals are to recognize excellence for academic achievement, acknowledge teachers' outstanding accomplishments, and support activities that promote academics. Non-school parents on the board meet to review accomplishments and reward merit. Booster clubs breed appreciation for what public schools are achieving by informing influential adults who are outside the parent/teacher/student loop (Decker & Decker, 1988).

• Student of the year award. If knowledge of this award goes no further than the honored student, family, and peers, it is a failure. An award for academic excellence or citizenship is about a public school's successes, about a community's pride. It's an opportunity to show business leaders, politicians, neighbors, and voters the very best of a public school. It is a definite candidate for a press release.

• Student achievement. It's probably an urban myth that the cashier at the local McDonald 's didn't know how to make the correct change when the power went out. Actively fight such commonly held assumptions that perpetuate beliefs that schools aren't doing their job. Hold math nights to show that kids are being challenged, and that they are acquiring good skills. Publicize the specific achievements of students through press releases and letters to influential supporters. Address the myth, and then shatter it.

• Staff achievement. Honor the great work of school staff - professional and classified. Hold public award ceremonies and publish the award winners in as many media sources as possible. Involve everyone in the recognition process. Many school districts, such as Vancouver (WA) Public Schools, have strong staff recognition programs in which employees nominate their peers for special recognition. Staff recognition not only shows the staff how important they are to the school, but shows the community as well.