Honors, Awards, & Scholarships

WASA / PEMCO 21st Century Educator Scholarships

WASA and the PEMCO Foundation have pooled their resources to assist three outstanding Washington seniors in furthering their K-12 education careers. Awards of $1,000 for four years will be granted from three application pools: Eastern Washington, Western Washington, and minorities. Any high school senior with a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 or better is eligible to apply.

SCHOLARSHIP CLOSED: Deadline was Monday, March 5, 2012.

Seattle-Northwest Securities Corporation / WASA
Dr. Doyle E. Winter Scholarship for Administrative Leadership in Education

Designed to assist talented and committed educational administrators as they enhance those skills and abilities needed to serve as educational leaders in the field of public education, a $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to a school administrator who is presently in or will begin a doctoral program in education.

SCHOLARSHIP CLOSED: Deadline was Monday, April 23, 2012.

• View a list of previous scholarship winners

WASA's Honorary Awards

WASA annually honors and recognizes outstanding educational administrators and individuals in other professions who have made extraordinary contributions to K-12 education. View a list of Honorary Award Winners: 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004

AWARD NOMINATIONS CLOSED: Deadline was Tuesday, May 1, 2012.

• REGION (PDF, Word)
• STATE (PDF, Word) 

Based on the award type for which a person is nominated, the Committee will make the following considerations:

• Could the nominee be considered a positive change agent in public education locally or at the state level?
• Has the nominee positively affected one or more areas--program development, staff morale, community support, student interest, learning environment or general support for public education?
• Has the nominee provided creative leadership in inspiring or motivating others to achieve or contribute to public education?
• Has the nominee personally provided a special service or achieved above and beyond what is expected in the usual public school program?
• Have others recognized the nominee as a force for constructive change in public education at the community and/or state level?

STATE AWARDS:

• Golden Gavel Award. The recipient shall be an individual, group, association or firm that has made an outstanding contribution to public education in the state of Washington. The contribution to education should have statewide application and be of lasting value. This award does not require that the recipient be or have been a member of the Washington Association of School Administrators. One recipient per year (award not necessarily given every year). Award: Plaque with golden gavel.               
• Barbara Mertens Legacy Award. Presented to an individual or group who has had a significant impact on public education in Washington—a legacy that has a lasting influence. The person or group does not have to be a member of WASA. The award comes with a $1,000 gift from D.A. Davidson & Company that will be awarded to a school, foundation, etc. in the awardees name and at his/her direction. One recipient per year (award not necessarily given every year). Award: Plaque.
• Service to WASA Award. The recipient shall have made contributions at the state level toward goals of WASA and shall not be a voting member of WASA. One recipient per year (award not necessarily given every year). Award: School bell on wood base.
• WASA Leadership Award. This award is presented to a selected WASA member who demonstrates and exemplifies outstanding leadership abilities and who has made significant contributions to the field of education on a statewide level. Each region may nominate one individual from that region. The nominee must be a current member of WASA and have been a member for a minimum of two years. One recipient per year. Award: Plaque. 

REGION AWARDS:

• WASA Student Achievement Leadership Award (one award per region). Recognizes innovative programs for improvement of student achievement. This award is presented to selected WASA members who have provided leadership for the implementation of an innovation that has resulted in measurable growth in student achievement. Ideally, the innovation could serve as a tool for modeling new programs. Each region shall nominate one individual. The nominee must be a current and active WASA member for a minimum of two years.
• Award of Merit (one award per region). The recipient of this award shall have demonstrated effective leadership at the region level and have made a significant contribution to WASA through his/her work in the field of education in Washington. The nominee must be a current and active member of WASA for a minimum of three years.

SELF-NOMINATING AWARDS:

• Twenty-Year Award.  Recognizes individual’s years of service to education. This award shall be granted to any school administrator who has served as an administrator for 20 years in public school districts. The recipient must have been a member of WASA for ten years.
• Retirement Award. Honors service to the profession. The recipient must be retiring from his/her administrative responsibilities and no longer eligible for active WASA membership. The recipient must be a current member of WASA.

COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARDS:

This award is presented to community members or groups in recognition of their outstanding contributions toward education. Recipients are non-WASA members. Specific criteria includes: benefit to students, leadership, motivation, success, cooperation/coordination with local district, recognition by others, and history of service. One or more recipients per region, per year. Award: plaque (WASA provides one plaque, additional plaques will be paid by region.)

AASA National Superintendent of the Year Program

WASA assists in the coordination of this program. WASA finished accepting nominations for 2012 AASA National Superintendent of the Year on October 1, 2011. Congratulations, Patti Banks, for winning the 2012 Washington State Superintendent of the Year!

• View list of Superintendents of the Year

PEMCO / School Employees Credit Union of Washington / WASA
Robert J. Handy Most Effective Administrator Awards

Established in 2002, these awards (presented annually to based on three district-size categories) seek to recognize outstanding Washington public school administrators.

• View list of RJH Award winners