In a jam-packed auditorium at Linton Middle School in Pennsylvania, ninth grade students filed one by one to the stage as their names were called in recognition of student achievement deemed worthy by the highest office of the land.
As the principal handed out the certificates, the teens and their families noticed the signatures on them: those of Arne Duncan, the United States Secretary of Education, and the President of the United States, Barack Obama.
The President's Education Awards Program has two goals: to reward students consistently earning high honor roll and to celebrate students who've improved academically or who've shown outstanding achievement in other areas.
These awards, however, are not a creation of the current administration. They've been around for 26 years.
According the United States Department of Education website, ED.gov, "Since 1983, the program has provided individual recognition from the President and the U.S. Secretary of Education to those students whose outstanding efforts have enabled them to meet challenging standards of excellence."
Criteria for Awards
To administer the awards, a principal must follow the United States Department of Education criteria. The program is open to elementary, middle and high schools, but students in grades K-3 should be left out, the National Association of Elementary School Principals website stated.
For the President's Award for Educational Excellence, students must have earned an A or 3.5 grade point average for the year. In addition to this criteria, principals can also consider scores on nationally normed tests, the SAT and ACT.
For the President's Award for Educational Achievement, the principal can consider a number of criteria for selection: improvement on nationally normed tests, ascending grades in core subjects like English and math and outstanding artistic achievement.
The achievement award should not be viewed as second to the excellence award but more so as a way to recognize different types of students, ED.gov stated.
A Tool to Help Troubled Schools
A school like Linton can use such an awards program as a tool to promote student achievement. The school, part of Penn Hills School District, has been on corrective action II, a failing status designation due to lack of adequate improvement on state-mandated tests. Test scores, however, are just one way to measure how well a school is educating students.
The awards program also demonstrates that while the school may not be excelling as a whole, individual students are finding success.
The National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals also sponsor and promote other awards programs including the American Citizenship Award, ASCA Honor Excellence Council Award and the Dream!Reach!Succeed! Awards Program.
Still, the President's Education Awards Program remains a popular way to engage and applaud students. Principals, even at distressed schools, take the time to apply and deliver the certificates to students. Those making high honor roll receive an academic excellence award while those who improve on test scores or have other school-related talents earn the achievement award.
 |
