AASA, The School Superintendents Associations' National Superintendent of the Year Award is acclaimed as the most prestigious honor a school system leader can attain.
The New York State Council of School Superintendents (The Council) uses the AASA awards application process to select the New York State Superintendent of the Year. Our Distinguished Services Committee, composed of current officers (with the word president in their title) and past presidents who are active superintendents, review all applications and make their final selection for our New York representative.
This year the Distinguished Service Committee reviewed the application and selection process for the New York State Superintendent of the Year to:
- Ensure there are no application process impediments to building an ample nomination pool that is representative of New York State;
- Provide candidates professional and due consideration and support through the nomination and applicant process; and
- Sufficiently celebrate the process and award itself as open to all members; and
Engaged and Streamlined Application Process
To ensure that as many qualified candidates who truly reflect the New York State landscape are included for consideration, the Distinguished Service Committee members will invite various stakeholder groups to nominate a candidate who they believe has significantly advanced their work. Those invitations will be sent in April and will include BOCES Joint Management Teams and members of the Educational Conference Board.
They also recommend that individuals continue to nominate a superintendent leader in their region who they think meet the criteria. The committee also created a new timeline for the application process and will continue to use the AASA SOY portal for the modified application.
- Nominations of an individual on the AASA portal https://soy.aasa.org/ are due by May 21, 2021.
- Nominees will be individually notified of their nomination. They will create their own login on https://soy.aasa.org/ portal to complete a shorter version of the application process. Nominees will provide their CV and answer two of the four questions presented in the portal by June 15, 2021.
- The Distinguished Service Committee will review the basic submitted materials for each nominated candidate between June 15 – July 15 and then select the 2022 New York State Superintendent of the Year.
Final Application Process
The selected New York candidate will be notified after July 15th and be invited to complete the more extensive AASA application process with support from the Distinguished Service Committee to ensure its competitiveness for national consideration. The final two questions, along with additional support material and artifacts, including recommendations and videos will be required. This new process allows The Council to:
- Support a candidate’s efforts to build a competitive, national candidate package.
- Harness the experience of former New York State Superintendent of the Year winners to lend perspective from the experience.
- Engage the Distinguished Service Committee’s institutional knowledge to provide statewide perspective.
- Collaborate with Council staff to construct a marketable, competitive, and complete deliverable for AASA and use within New York State.
The deadline to complete the entire application is October 15, 2021. The Council is required to submit the final application to AASA by November 1st for inclusion in the National Superintendent of the Year process.
After Application Submission
Once the application has been submitted to AASA via the portal, The Council will coordinate an announcement in November with the selected candidate's school district. We will recognize our New York State winner at our 2022 Winter Institute & Lobby Day next March. The application submission via the portal will then allow AASA's national blue-ribbon panel to review the application so they can narrow the field to four candidates from across the country.
- Each January, AASA announces their four finalists who will participate in interviews and a moderated press conference. The National Superintendent of the Year is announced at AASA’s National Conference on Education typically held in February each year. All state superintendents of the year are also recognized.
- A $10,000 scholarship is awarded to a student from the high school from which the National Superintendent of the Year graduated from AASA.
Selection Criteria
Each candidate will be 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.
AASA's program is open to all public school superintendents in the United States and overseas and is co-sponsored by First Student, AIG Retirement Services, and AASA. New York's program is only open to active New York State Superintendents.