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Superintendent of the Year

About the Superintendent of the Year Program

AASA, The School Superintendents Association® established the AASA National Superintendent of the Year Program in 1988 to recognize outstanding individuals on the frontiers of educational leadership. Today, there is no more appropriate time to recognize the inspiring leaders who create the systems that prepare students for a successful life. The program is co-sponsored by First Student, AIG Retirement Services and AASA. Widely recognized as the highest honor for a school leader, the program is dedicated to the potential and promise of education in a democracy -- that every child deserves to benefit equally from the rich advantages of a quality public education. School system leaders deserve acclaim and the public's recognition. By participating in this program, nominees help illuminate the accomplishments of the entire profession. PASA coordinates the program in Pennsylvania, which begins with the annual process of selecting the Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year.
 
Award Criteria
Each candidate is judged on the following attributes and skills:
* 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
 
To be considered for National Superintendent of the Year, a Pennsylvania applicant must first be selected as Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year by the PA Association of School Administrators (PASA).
 
NOMINATIONS NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE 2024 PA SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YEAR
Deadline: June 2
See below for eligibility and nomination information.

Nominations and Eligibility Criteria
Any Pennsylvania superintendent who plans to continue as a superintendent may be nominated. The program is designed to recognize the outstanding leadership of active, front-line superintendents. It is not recognition of service at retirement or a program to reward current state or national leaders. Additional criteria for Pennsylvania nominee eligibility include the following:
• The individual must be both a PASA and AASA member.
• The individual must have served as a sitting superintendent with a commission for at least five years and in his/her current district in Pennsylvania for at least two years.
• The individual must intend to continue serving as a superintendent in the year in which he/she will be the PA Superintendent of the Year.

All PA nominations will be accepted online-only through the AASA Superintendent of the Year website. Those seeking to nominate a superintendent must first register on the site. (Self-nomination is not permitted.) AASA will notify candidates of the nomination, and PASA will send eligible nominees the state application. Nomination deadline for the 2024 Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year is Friday, June 2.
 

Application for Those Nominated
Those nominated for Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year and found eligible according to the established criteria for candidates (above) will be formally notified and given access to PASA's application rubric. (Nominees will not complete the online AASA application. Only the individual selected as Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year will complete that application.) Nominations are due to PASA by Friday, July 7.
 

Selection of PA Superintendent of the Year
Members of the PASA Elections Committee and the PASA President will review all applications and recommend to the PASA Board of Governors a minimum of two (2) finalists but not more than three (3) for consideration as Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year prior to mid-September. Those applications then will be presented to the Board for the purposes of voting (online). The finalist who receives the majority vote (at least 51 percent) will be considered the Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year. At that point, the individual selected will be notified and asked to complete the formal, online AASA application for National Superintendent of the Year before November 1.
 

Recognition of the PA Superintendent of the Year
Winners from every state, including Pennsylvania, receive local, state and national recognition for their outstanding leadership. The Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year will be recognized and honored during a special luncheon in or near his/her school district, to be planned and coordinated with input from the recipient. The  National Superintendent of the Year will be chosen from among four finalists selected from the state winners and will be announced at the annual AASA National Conference on Education during a ceremony in which all state Superintendents of the Year are recognized and honored. In addition to other awards, a $10,000 scholarship is presented each year in the name of the National Superintendent of the Year to a student in the high school from which the superintendent graduated. The four national finalists receive U.S. Savings Bonds.
 
Questions about the Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year and National Superintendent of the Year application process may be directed to PASA by email at pasa@pasa-net.org.
 
2023 Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year

Dr. Brian Troop, Ephrata Area SD