Nomination Package

2020

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TEACHER EXCELLENCE

AWARDS

THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ARE PLEASED TO OFFER THE TEACHER EXCELLENCE AWARDS:

THE TEACHER EXCELLENCE AWARDS recognize excellence as an ongoing investment into the life of a Canadian Christian school community and a positive public contribution to the common good. Being shortlisted for the Teacher Excellence Awards is an indication of a particular educator or school community’s reputation for giftedness and excellent practice.

Launched in 2016 by Cardus and the Christian School Foundation, the awards were originally named for and sponsored by Sarnia business leader John Rozema, esteemed for his commitment to both local and global issues, and for his support of educational institutions.

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There are five possible Teacher Excellence Awards for 2020.

Please note that in previous years the categories have been subject-based, however, we are now awarding in the following categories:

Kindergarten – Grade 4Award Value: $1000

Grade 5 – Grade 8Award Value: $1000

Grade 9 – Grade 12Award Value: $1000

Global PerspectivesThis award recognizes excellence in the integration of global perspectives in the classroom. In particular, teaching and learning practice that integrates what we can learn from and offer to communities in other nations. Service Learning projects are not eligible in their own right for this award unless they are integrated into the subject curriculum.

Award Value: $1000

Lifetime AchievementThis award recognizes excellence over an extended period of time. Nominees should have at least 20 years of experience and the focus of the application portfolio will rely more on examples of innovation and testimonies of impact. While the rigour criteria will be more difficult to document, preference will be given to nominations which illustrate a contribution to the craft and the status of the teaching profession.

Award Value: $1000

Awards

* Any student with exceptionalities is first and foremost a part of their grade level classroom community. If you wish to nominate an educator doing exceptional work with students as part of your school’s special education activities, s/he should be nominated in the grade level category you deem most appropriate.

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The judging process will occur in two stages:

NominationsNominations are to come from a principal or board member and do not require supporting documentation. The deadline for submission is April 20, 2020.

Note: When completing the nomination form, please remain anonymous by not mentioning your name, the name of the nominee, or the name of the school, except for the questions explicitly requesting those names.

Portfolios

If the nominee is selected for the shortlist they must submit a portfolio which contains evidence of how the shortlisted teacher meets the three award criteria. We recommend the following kinds of artifacts:

PURPOSE and your school’s mission:

• A reflection on your school’s Christian mission and how it impacts your teaching.

• Curriculum projects which demonstrate faith integration – this could be a lesson, a unit, or course.

• Examples of assessed student work and/or course evaluations which reference faith integration learning outcomes.

• Student or community feedback.

RIGOUR in curriculum, instruction, assessment, and classroom relationships:

• Pupil tracking and assessment data with evidence of how you use it.

• Sample lesson plans, unit plans and/or course outlines together with evaluation.

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Instructions for Nominations

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• A commentary on how you designed a project, revised instruction, or worked on building student learning relationships in the light of evidence from your classroom.

• Teacher observation reports from peers, or senior administration.

SERVICE of the common good:

• Lessons, unit plans or course outlines – this could be a description of a particular project or curriculum initiative that you have introduced to encourage students to take risks, collaborate, be creative, and take responsibility for their own learning.

• Letters of reference or impact statements from the wider community.

• Student evaluations or supporting letters from the student community.

The portfolio should be prepared in consultation with the school principal but written by the shortlisted nominee. We allow for some creativity in the presentation of evidence, most submissions including a combination of the aforementioned artifacts. However, we are very strict about anonymity, length, and word limit.

Portfolios are to be submitted only by those who are shortlisted.

1 Must not exceed ten pages in total, and the word count must not exceed 3000 words. Any labels or headings attached to pictures or diagrams are included in this limit. Portfolios that are longer than ten pages and exceed the word count will invalidate the submission.

2 Please anonymize your portfolio before you submit it. It must not refer to teachers or pupils by name or include the name of the school. To aid this process it is completely acceptable to write in the first person or to use the signifier “the nominee.” Please do not use school letterhead and be very sure that photographs or pictures do not identify either the school, the nominee, or pupils.

3 If you are shortlisted and contacted to submit a portfolio, you will receive instructions on how to submit, as well as a deadline.

Portfolio Rules

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Make sure that your nominee is eligible to be nominated; you will be asked to declare this when you submit nominations online. To be eligible the nominee(s) must meet the following criteria at the time of nomination:

a Nominees must be employed in an independent, public separate or alternately funded Christian school in Canada which uses an Apostles’ Creed understanding of Christianity with an explicit intention to provide teaching and learning within a Christian framework.

b Part-time teachers can be nominated providing they teach the equivalent of 2.5 days per week in a classroom setting.

c Nominees must have a minimum of three years teaching experience and have taught in a school within Canada (either public or independent).

d We recognize that teacher accreditation varies across different provincial jurisdictions and for different Christian school associations and the independent sector; nevertheless, a nominee’s teaching experience and accreditation (if applicable) should be in good standing.

e Posthumous nominations are not accepted.

Eligibility

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The award panel will therefore be looking for evidence that a teacher demonstrates excellence in all of the following categories:

Purpose and Your School’s Mission

Nominees should be teachers who can articulate the Christian mission of your school and who embody it in their professional practice. If a teacher is shortlisted they will be asked to submit artifacts such as curriculum planning documents, evaluation and assessment data or student reflections which demonstrate that they are integrating Christian faith and learning into their teaching.

Rigour in Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, and Classroom Relationships

You should nominate teachers who regularly collect evidence of pupil attainment, progress, and character development and use this to drive instruction, to inform curriculum planning, and to monitor and improve student attainment. If shortlisted, teachers would be expected to submit evidence of this data collection and measurement and to show how it is being used effectively.

Service of the Common Good

Nominees should be teachers who are prepared through their own professional practice to foster a classroom culture which not only maximizes the gifts of individual students, but impacts the good of the wider community. A teacher who is shortlisted would be expected to submit evidence of how students are engaged in practices such as risk-taking, collaboration, creativity, and taking responsibility for their own learning and how this is impacting the community beyond the classroom. This could include planning and assessment documentation, student and community reflections, samples of student work, and/or student evaluations and feedback.

Award Criteria

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Nominations must be submitted by April 20th, 2020. All submissions are considered final. The Award sponsors will not comment on forms or provide individual guidance to nominees.

The shortlist will be announced on May 11th, 2020.

The award winners will be announced at the Christian Schools Canada conference in Vancouver in September 2020. The specific time is to be determined. All those on the shortlist, together with their principal and/or board representative will be invited to attend the reception where the awards will be presented by the partner organizations: Cardus, Christian Schools Canada, Christian School Foundation, and EduDeo Ministries. Travel and accommodations will be provided for each of the shortlisted individuals.

Deadlines and Announcements

Terms and Conditions

Awards are for curricular—not co-curricular—activities. Nominations for co-curricular activities and projects will not be considered.

Schools can nominate multiple candidates in each award category (K-4, 5-8, 9-12, Global Perspectives, and Lifetime Achievement).

Nominees previously submitted, but not shortlisted, for the John Rozema Teacher Excellence Award in prior years may be re-nominated for the Teacher Excellence Awards, but it is expected that an entirely new nomination letter and portfolio will be written and submitted. Previously submitted nomination packages must not under any circumstances be reused. Nominees previously shortlisted for the John Rozema Teacher Excellence Award in prior years may be re-nominated after four years (two cycles) of the award have passed.

Schools will receive the actual funds; however, the nominee should determine how they are spent. The Christian School Foundation handles the administration of award funds and will work to ensure that schools and recipients are supported in the process. In the event that a recipient moves to another Christian school within Canada, any unspent funds should follow the recipient to his or her new school. If funds have already been spent on physical resources, such as equipment, these should remain with the school.

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As stated on page 4, you are not required to provide supporting documentation when you submit a nomination. Only if your nominee is shortlisted will they then be asked to submit a portfolio. The online nomination form contains the following questions:

CHOICE OF NOMINEE: Please describe briefly why you are nominating this teacher. Reasons could include a contribution to the school mission and community life, recognizing innovation and/or rigorous practice that models excellence to students and teachers. Max 150 words.

NOMINATION SUMMARY: Please provide a summary explaining how this nominee demonstrates excellence in teaching and learning and how this impacts your school community. Max 400 words.

PURPOSE and your school’s mission:

Please describe how the nominee articulates and embodies the Christian mission of your school in their professional practice. Max 350 words.

RIGOUR in curriculum, instruction, assessment, and classroom relationships:

Please explain how the nominee uses evidence of pupil attainment, progress and character development for the purposes of instruction, curriculum planning, monitoring and improving student attainment. Max 350 words.

SERVICE of the common good:

Please describe the impact that this teacher has on culture in and beyond the classroom. Remember to explain how they foster excellent education practices such as risk-taking, collaboration, creativity, and taking responsibility for learning. Max 350 words.

Submit your nomination

Submit online here.

THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ARE PLEASED TO OFFER THE TEACHER EXCELLENCE AWARDS: