Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Awards

Co-sponsored by NCSS and the Kaur Foundation, The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Awards recognize the work of outstanding educators, administrators and institutions to promote inclusion by powering cultural and religious literacy in their classrooms and schools.

The Cultural Literacy Award will recognize 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 Religious Literacy Award will recognize 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.

The DEI Instructional Innovation Award will recognize 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 deadline to submit for these awards is October 30, 2023. Apply here or through the form below.

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.

Self-nominations are permitted, but must include two letters of support, one from a peer group and another from a team/supervisory lead.

Criteria

Nominees for 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.

Application Requirements

To be nominated for any of these awards, a nomination packet including the following materials must be submitted using the application below.

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
a personal statement from the nominee
materials/evidence that qualifies for award criteria, and willingness to present to audiences to champion DEI

Awards

The Cultural Literacy Award includes a $1500 prize.
The Religious Literacy Award includes a $1500 prize.
The DEI Instructional Innovation Award includes a $2,500 prize.