Region presidents are now welcoming nominations for regional 2009 Superintendent of the Year awards, co-sponsored by MASA, AASA, and Aramark. Anyone can nominate a superintendent for this program. Most often, nominations come from a school board member, parent, community leader or another superintendent.

Check with your own region president to learn the nomination process your region will follow. If the region has no planned process, then follow the following steps:

1. Complete the “Nomination Form” at the Superintendent of the Year awards page of Michigan Edusource.

2. Submit the nomination form to your Region President AND AASA by July 30, in order to give nominees adequate time to complete the lengthy application packet. (The deadline for all nominees’ completed application packets is September 30.)

This year’s theme will be “Democracy's Promise: Educate Every Child” and a ll applicants will be measured against the following criteria:

• Leadership for Learning – creativity in successfully meeting the needs of students in his or her school system.

• Communication – strength in both personal and organizational communication.

• Professionalism – constant improvement of administrative knowledge and skills, while providing professional development opportunities and motivation to others on the education team.

• Community Involvement – active participation in local community activities and an understanding of regional, national and international issues.

This year marks the 22nd year of the National Superintendent of the Year Program. Nomination brochures have been mailed to all public school board presidents, so if you plan to nominate a colleague, be sure to check with their board president so you can work together. An invitation to participate should have been mailed to all public school boards and superintendents in late May.

To learn more about the National Superintendent of the Year program, visit www.aasa.org/awards/content.cfm?ItemNumber=10476#B

To learn more about Michigan’s process and timelines, visit www.MichiganEdusource.org. Click on “Awards, Scholarships and Recognitions,” then “Administrator.”