Letter to Area School Principals Regarding Change in the Excellence Awards

At the Warner School, we believe that teachers have the ability to make a difference in the lives of their students and become leaders and agents of change. Over the years, the Warner School has sought ways to honor the dedication of teachers and the contribution they make to the teaching profession.

For the past 16 years, we have done this, in part, through the Awards for Excellence in Secondary School Teaching. We have enjoyed the opportunity to host this annual award and feel it has provided an important service to the community and foundation for recognizing excellence in teaching.

After much consideration and deliberation with Leonard and Marion Simon, the generous friends of education who have sponsored this ceremony in recent years, we have decided to reconceive this event, no longer offering the awards dinner program in its current format. We remain whole-heartedly committed to finding ways to celebrate excellent teaching and to telling the stories of exceptional teachers, but we feel that a change in program will help us to do this better.

It is our goal to develop a new method of honoring teachers from all areas, expanding the recognition to teachers of all grade levels. We hope to develop a new approach that can help us focus on individual teachers so we can learn more about the important impact each teacher has had. This new approach would redirect the significant resources spent on the annual dinner toward making longer-term and more meaningful differences in the public perception of the teaching profession, while giving area teachers much-deserved recognition and the vehicle to share their exceptional practices and experiences with the educational community and the public at large.

As we look to the future, we invite your participation and suggestions in finding ways to showcase exceptional teaching and distinguished teachers. We have some exciting possibilities in mind, but would like your input and ideas. I invite you to complete the enclosed survey and return it to me at your earliest convenience in the postage-paid return envelope. Together, we can serve our area’s fine teachers, while ensuring the teaching profession gets the recognition it deserves.

We thank you and your dedicated staff and students for the many hours they have contributed toward making the Awards for Excellence in Secondary School Teaching a success for so many years.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. Call Laura Brophy at 585-275-2308 or email laura.brophy@rochester.edu. We welcome your input and the opportunity to answer any questions you may have.

Sincerely,
Raffaella Borasi
Dean

Laura Brophy
Director of Development and Communications

Download Word Version of Survey Sent to School Principals

Get answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the changes in the Excellence Awards.