Awards Resources
Applicants and Nominators:
Writing a Strong Nomination: Tips for Applicants: These recommendations from the national Awards Committee are meant to help applicants and nominators strengthen their award nominations.
About the Excellence Awards: Downloadable versions of the nomination requirements for each of the eight (8) Excellence Awards can be found on this page.
Quality CTE Program of Study Framework: As of 2017, the Excellence Awards have been aligned and integrated with the ACTE Quality CTE Program of Study Framework™, which outlines the 12 elements that go into high-quality CTE programs. You can learn more about the overall High-quality CTE Initiative on our website.
Awards Committee Judges:
Tutorial for Judges: Awards and the High-quality CTE Framework: This presentation explains the ACTE Quality CTE Program of Study Framework™ and how it should be used as a reference point for judges when reviewing award candidates. All judges are strongly encouraged to watch this tutorial.
Awards Committee Guiding Principles: This list of practices employed by the national ACTE Awards Committee provides recommendations on how to ensure fair practices throughout the application and judging process for your committee members.
Awards Committee Member Position Description: Are you looking for judges or a new awards chair to take over your awards program? This national awards committee member position description provides information on the commitment involved at the national level, but can be used as a basis for a similar position description in your state or Region.
National Excellence Awards Rubric: A downloadable version of the national Excellence Awards rubric. *please note this rubric is has been updated for the 2027 Award Cycle*
Award Chairs / Administrators:
Awards 101 & 201: ACTE Awards and Your State: this presentation (click here for PPT) was developed as part of the September 2017 state leaders’ call. It goes over the basics of running a state awards program, and shares practices and tips from other states on making their programs successful. Also, be sure to check out this sample Awards To-Do list provided by North Dakota ACTE.
Why Awards Matter, and What You Can Do to Grow Your Program (Recorded Webinar). This presentation was given as part of the March 2015 state leaders’ call. The awards segment begins around 11:40, and the presentation focuses on the purpose of awards and some common trouble areas for getting awards programs to grow.
Responsibilities and Permissions on the ACTE Awards Portal: The Awards Portal is a handy tool that automates several steps of the application and judging process. This chart outlines the various functions that can be performed via the ACTE Awards Portal by the automated system as well as those that are managed by the state program administrator and ACTE staff.
Help for Admins on the ACTE Awards Portal: Link to the help page for administrators on the ACTE Awards Portal.
Marketing Your Awards Program: This guide reviews some of the basics of marketing your awards program and provides sample messaging for various stages of the program. Also, see this sample awards promotion provided by North Dakota.
ACTE Excellence Awards (brochure): A downloadable version of the ACTE Excellence Awards brochure. If you are a state leader, you can request that ACTE print copies for your state conference using the conference materials request form.
Press Releases for Award Winner Announcements & Style Guide: An easy and quick way to recognize your winners is to draft a press release and circulate that to your local press. This guide includes tips and samples for drafting press releases as well as some style guide recommendations for writing about awards.
Does your state have other resources that would benefit other state awards coordinators? Are there resources that would be particularly helpful for your program that are not available here? Contact Marlen Zarcone (mcarcone@acteonline.org) to share or recommend new resources for this page.
