Communications >Awards
Goodlad Award 2009
The first-ever Goodlad Awards, created to acknowledge exceptional work to advance the NNER’s mission, were presented at the 2009 conference. The first Goodlad Award recipients are two outstanding school leaders: Nicholas Mazzarella, principal of Brooklyn College Academy, a high school located on the Brooklyn College Campus, and Chuck Birkholtz, superintendent of RULH Local Schools, Ripley, Ohio. Although working in very different settings, both have demonstrated ongoing commitment to the AED and the NNER. Their efforts to increase opportunities and quality learning for all students especially affect students from isolated rural poverty and urban centers — populations of students too often underserved. In their acceptance comments Nick and Chuck each spoke about how their work is influenced by the NNER mission and how their involvement with their partner universities results in broader and richer opportunities for students and faculty.
The National Network for Educational Renewal
Clark and Michelli Awards
The Richard W. Clark Award for Exemplary Partner School Work and Nicholas Michelli Award for Advancing Social Justice were established in 2005 to recognize and honor outstanding work by NNER settings toward advancing these two critical areas within the Agenda for Education in a Democracy. The NNER is committed to simultaneous renewal of schools and the institutions that prepare our educators and, to promote this work, the Network also understands the importance of acknowledging and disseminating outstanding efforts and accomplishments.
Richard W. Clark Award for Exemplary Partner School Work
Franklin Elementary School, a long-term partner with Montclair State University in New Jersey, was recognized for its deep commitment to partner school work and the positive results it’s achieved for students and teachers. Providing a living example of simultaneous renewal, partnership activities have been many and ongoing, and always with student well-being at their core. In a community greatly affected by poverty, the school continues to meet adequate yearly progress (AYP) standards and enriches students beyond the basics. Art, music, student community activity, combined with authentic school engagement in the community, ongoing study of practice and policy, and innovative grant funding have produced a tapestry of options for students, an effective learning environment for university students, and a wonderful example of what can be accomplished through sustained and trusting collaboration. Teacher turnover is low, a rare occurrence in schools that serve urban communities with high numbers of people living in poverty; and university presence is integrated into the school culture. For more information on the school, its partner work, or other initiatives, contact principal Susan Taylor at staylor@nps.k12.nj.us.
Representing Franklin Elementary, from left to right: Cheryl Hopper, Dorothy Heard, Jennifer Robinson, Marisol Quinones-Diaz,Ada Beth Cutler, Sue Taylor, and Nancy Lauter.
Nicholas Michelli Award for Advancing Social Justice
Donna Michaels, Brandon School Division superintendent, along with colleagues from the school division and Brandon University, Manitoba, Canada, accepted the 2009 Michelli Award for Social Justice. They dedicated their award to John I. Goodlad as the inspiration for the work and as a fellow Canadian. The Brandon setting earned this recognition for its long-term, multifaceted, and collaborative work aimed at providing access to quality learning for all students. The school division made a deliberate effort to learn from students in order to develop policies and practices that would better serve those students. The process included a “graduation study” of both graduating and early-exit students. Interviews were conducted with 85 of the 270 total early-exit students and with 206 of the total sample of 1042 graduating students.
As a result of this study Brandon School Division opened an off-site campus location in the downtown area of Brandon in September 2007. For students who have been out of school, this alternative campus offers them the opportunity to complete their education in a more flexible setting. The Neelin High School Off-Site Campus (NHSOC) is staffed by three full-time teachers and a guidance counselor. To date, 106 students have graduated from this program. You can access their Website at http:// www.brandonsd.mb.ca/neelin/ferguson/index.html.
