The Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Awards are a collaboration between NCSS and the Kaur Foundation. These awards are designed to recognize the contributions of outstanding educators and administrators who build safe and welcoming classrooms and communities to safeguard civil rights and promote excellence in education empowering all.

The Cultural Literacy Award recognizes a teacher or administrator for their contribution to increasing knowledge of distinct cultural practices and identities, inclusive of the Sikhs, such that students from diverse backgrounds feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued to fully participate in classrooms and school activities.

The DEI Instructional Innovation Award recognizes a teacher, administrator or an institution that has developed and taught a modified course, revised curricula, or created equity and inclusion tools to support inclusiveness resulting in changes of demonstrated or measurable impact in classrooms and schools.

The Religious Literacy Award recognizes a teacher or administrator for their efforts to integrate knowledge of diverse faith traditions, inclusive of the Sikh tradition, into courses or curricula at their school or designed pedagogy with values of respect, and social justice that acknowledge and respect students’ religious practices. 
Eligibility

Each award will be presented to a successful nominee who creates inclusive communities both in the classroom and beyond that represents the rich diversity of global communities. DEI work takes many different forms such as, but not limited to, an educator who might be providing professional development to others about inclusive learning environments (e.g., presentations, social media, blogs), designing curriculum to support DEI, or initiatives to advocate for DEI in K-12 classrooms and additional educational institutions. Nominees for each this award will document and submit their initiatives that cultivate, promote, and foster a more diverse, equitable and inclusive environment demonstrating the impact of outcomes from DEI initiatives. Nominations for this award will follow the guidelines below. 

Criteria

To be nominated for any of these awards, a nomination packet must be submitted indicated the award being nominated for; a description of the nominee’s approach to creating a diverse and inclusive educational environment and the impact of their efforts; a copy of the nominee’s current resume; two letters of support; and, a personal statement from nominee with materials/evidence that qualifies for award criteria.

Award

The award shall be a plaque or other appropriate recognition. The Cultural Literacy and Religious Literacy Awards each include a $1,500 prize; the DEI Award includes a $2,500 prize. All winners are recognized at the next Annual Conference following their selection.

Frequency of the Award

This award is given annually, except in years when no qualified individuals are found.

Award Sponsor

Kaur Foundation