LAEP "Excellence in Education Awards" provide grants of up to $10,000 to honor educators and community members for exemplary and effective efforts

THE LA EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP (LAEP) will recognize exemplary educators, schools, and learning communities that demonstrate a measurable impact on student achievement with awards of up to $10,000 at the inaugural LAEP Excellence in Education Awards, Thursday evening, June 10th at the Hotel Inter-Continental in downtown Los Angeles.

The LAEP Excellence in Education Awards aim to highlight the achievements of teachers, schools and communities in the Los Angeles Unified School District that demonstrate exemplary educational practices in pre-K through 12th grade. The purpose of the Awards is to recognize and reward the effective efforts of educators and community members and to promote educational practices that can improve student learning. The awards were made possible through a major grant from the Ahmanson Foundation.

"Everyday we witness extraordinary educators at work," said Peggy Funkhouser, president of the Los Angeles Educational Partnership. "We think those educators deserve the thanks and support of the Los Angeles community. We hope that this awards program will help to honor their efforts and make the public more aware of the excellence that exists in Los Angeles public schools."

Seventeen teams of teachers, schools and communities were selected to receive the awards from nearly 100 applications in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Recipients of the Excellence in Education Awards were selected based on their proven effectiveness with students and the excellent practices used in the classroom, at the school site, or in the community. Award winners were selected from those applicants who best exemplified the California Standards for the Teaching Profession and could document student progress and achievement. A screening committee of educators and community members selected the finalists and all sites were visited by members of the screening committee. A selection committee reviewed the information provided in the application and the notes offered by the site visit teams to make the final difficult choices.

The Excellence in Education Awards reflect the belief of the Los Angeles Educational Partnership that excellence in education requires accomplished teaching, well-managed schools, and strong connections between schools and their communities. The Awards aim to support and foster improvements in public education in each of these areas.

The Excellence in Education Awards were developed by the Los Angeles Educational Partnership with the funding and support of the Ahmanson Foundation. The Los Angeles Educational Partnership (LAEP) is a non-profit organization that works with educators, business leaders and community members to foster and support improvements in public education in the Los Angeles area.