Overview of the Awards
The Leadership Award winner:
- Demonstrates leadership in pursuing the mission, vision and core values of high-quality education and academic success and well-being of each student.
- Acts ethically and models professional norms.
- Strives for equity in educational opportunity and culturally responsive practices to promote student academic success and well-being.
- Cultivates an inclusive, caring and supportive environment.
- Helps develop professional capacity in others.
- Fosters a professional community through modeling, resources and supports for colleagues.
- Engages family and community in a meaningful way to promote student academic success and well-being.
- Acts as an agent for continuous improvement to promote student academic success and well-being.
- Inspires others by setting high standards and expectations and providing support, which motivates everyone to give his or her best all the time.
- Is seen as a leader by peers and colleagues.
The Innovation Award winner:
- Practices and models lifelong learning.
- Is willing to explore, question, elaborate and advance new ideas through connections with other education-minded people.
- Teaches through the use of technology, models the use of technology and requires students to regularly use technology to promote student learning.
- Designs a learning environment to facilitate student collaborative learning, and student ownership of learning.
- Demonstrates creativity and ingenuity in teaching and learning, which promotes student academic success and well-being.
- Encourages creativity and innovation in students and provides them with the tools to be successful; including learning from each attempt doing something new and doing things in new ways.
The Putting Students First Award winner:
- Goes beyond the call of duty to help students.
- Recognizes students as “real people “and acts to make sure students’ well-being comes first.
- Advocates for students.
- Provides whatever is necessary to support student academic success and well-being.
- Makes students feel special, respected, cared for and cared about.
- Makes sure students KNOW they are important to this person!
The Harriet B. Kenworthy Literacy Award winner:
- Demonstrates a laser-like focus on literacy education.
- Provides best practice instruction and intervention strategies.
- Implements a balanced literacy approach to instruction and intervention.
- Strives for equity in educational opportunity and culturally responsive practices to promote student academic success and well-being.
- Integrates literacy across all content areas.
- Fosters a learning environment, which promotes students identifying themselves as readers, writers, speakers and listeners.
- Has an undeniable passion for all forms of literacy.
The Literacy Award was named in honor of Harriet B. Kenworthy at its inception. Mrs. Kenworthy was a founding member of the Education Foundation. She chaired the committee that studied the feasibility of developing an education foundation to serve students of the Flint Community Schools. Harriet served as Chair of the EFFCS for many years and continued on the Board until 2018. The Excellence in Education Literacy Award is named in her honor in recognition of her lifelong work in this community, her commitment to the children of Flint and her continuous efforts to improve literacy levels and to ignite a lifelong passion for reading in all students.
The Dolores C. Ennis Lifetime Achievement Award winner:
- Has been working in education in the Flint Community Schools for 20 or more years.
- Models and practices lifelong learning.
- Acts as an agent for continuous improvement to promote student academic success and well-being.
- Acts ethically and models professional norms to support student academic success and well-being.
- Demonstrates a sustained and exemplary commitment to teaching and learning and is seen as the “ultimate educator,” a role model for all educators, the best of the best.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was named in honor of Dolores C. Ennis at its inception. Mrs. Ennis was a long-time educator for the Flint Community Schools and a founding member of the Education Foundation. This award requires significant achievements and may not be given every year.
Dolores Ennis served on the original planning committee to develop the EFFCS. A native of Flint and a graduate of the University of Michigan, Mrs. Ennis was the first African American secondary school teacher in the Flint school system. She went on to become the assistant principal of North High School in 1970 and the first African American woman to serve as deputy principal, working at Central High School in 1975. Mrs. Ennis was later the executive director of Middle and High School Curriculum, retiring in 1992. Mrs. Ennis served on the Education Foundation for the Flint Community Schools until her passing in 2019.
DISTINGUISHED RETIREE AWARD
The Distinguished Retiree award was established in 2018 to recognize individuals who have given at least 10 years of service to Flint Community Schools and its students and who have retired from the Flint Community Schools. We look for individuals who, through their vision, attitude and work, have demonstrated a commitment to the students and families of the Flint Community Schools even after they have retired from employment and have continued to volunteer.
The Distinguished Retiree Award winner:
- Has been retired in good standing after a minimum of 10 years employment with the FCS.
- Has continued involvement in the Flint community, helping students and families in a demonstrable way.
- Must be of such stature and accomplishment that students, educators and the community take pride in, and are inspired by, his/her recognition as an FCS Distinguished retiree.
- Continues to serve as an ambassador of the Flint Community Schools.
LIGHT A CANDLE AWARD
The Light a Candle Award is given to someone who believes in our students above all. This person may see challenges but chooses to focus on the opportunities. We wish to recognize the many unsung heroes, people who serve quietly with humility and who do what needs to be done without fanfare.
The award was created to honor the people who may be tempted to despair in the face of multiple obstacles but who choose a different path. Rather than cursing the darkness, they choose to light a candle. They shine their own light and help illuminate the world for others.
Purpose of the Annual Award Ceremony
The goals of the event are to:
- Promote the importance of student engagement and academic achievement.
- Recognize and thank educators who excel in helping students succeed.
- Recognize alumni and the successful lives they have built on the foundation they received in the Flint Community Schools.
- Promote the successes of the FCS and build confidence in the future of the Flint Community Schools.
