Previously called the Star Administrator award, the Star Rising Leader award recognizes educators who are on the path to building leadership. These exceptional individuals already perform leadership duties and demonstrate a commitment to serving in a leadership role in their career.

• Required to have five years of experience in public education, with three years of experience within public education at a KC based public charter school or within a KCPS School.
• Building principals are not eligible. 
• Required to serve within a school building – cannot be a leader or administrator at a district level.
• Required to already have or be currently enrolled in a master’s program for school leadership / administration or have another relevant leadership qualification that demonstrates a commitment to a career in building leadership.
• Is already performing leadership duties within the school (eg: dept chair, curriculum chair, assistant principal)
• Two awards are given in this category, with one award given to an educator at a KCPS school and one award given to an educator at a public charter school.

The award for Star Support is given to those who serve in support roles within school buildings. Starting in 2025, this category will award in two subcategories:

Classified Staff

• Required to have five years of experience working within a public school, with three years of experience within public education at a KC based public charter school or within a KCPS school.
• Required to serve within a school building – district level employees are not eligible.
• Serves in a classified role, for example: custodian, school office / front desk staff, etc. regardless of professional credentials.
• Four awards are given in this category, with two awards given to educators at KCPS schools and two awards given to educators at public charter schools.

Certified Staff

• Required to have five years of experience working within a public school, with three years of experience within public education at a KC based public charter school or within a KCPS school.
• Required to serve within a school building – cannot be a district level employee.
• Required to serve in a position that requires a professional certification and / or licensure: for example: school nurse, library, Counselor, etc.
• Two awards are given in this category, with one award given to an educator at a KCPS school and one award given to an educator at a public charter school.

The Star Teacher award is our signature award and is given to those educators who lead classrooms in our public schools. Starting in 2025, seven star teacher awards will be awarded, honoring the following four categories:

Pre-K Teacher

• Must have five years of experience in public education or Pre-K, with one year experience within public education at KC Pre-K Cooperative Site.
• Required to be continuing in a Pre-K role for the 2025 / 6 school year.
• Required to work in a Pre-K site that is a member of the Pre-K Cooperative
• One award is given in this category, with a winner selected from all applicants.

Early Career

• Required to be working as a classroom teacher in a KC based public charter school or within a KCPS school.
• Can serve in any grade or subject. 
• Has less than five years of service in education.
• Required to be a certified teacher or be a subject matter expert in a DESE approved subject role.
• Two awards are given in this category, with one winner selected from a public charter school and one winner selected from a KCPS school.

Grade K-6 Teacher

• Required to have five years of experience working within a public school, with at least three years of experience within public education at a KC based public charter school or within the KCPS district.
• Required to be a certified classroom teacher in grades K-6.
• Can be in any subject area (including non-core, non-tested)
• Required to be a certified teacher or be a subject matter expert in a DESE approved subject role.
• Two awards are given in this category, with one winner selected from a public charter school and one winner selected from a KCPS school.

Grade 7-12 Teacher

• Required to have five years of experience working within a public school, with three years of experience within public education at a KC based public charter school or within the KCPS district.
• Required to be a certified classroom teacher in grades 7-12.
• Can be in any subject area (including non-core, non-tested)
• Required to be a certified teacher or be a subject matter expert in a DESE approved subject role.
• Two awards are given in this category, with one winner selected from a public charter school and one winner selected from a KCPS school.

Starting in 2025, the Excellence in Education Awards is accepting nominations for lifetime achievement. Reserved for those who have served our education system for multiple decades. This highly selective award is only given if an eligible candidate is presented. Nominees for this award can work within any non-principal, school-based role. District level staff are not eligible:

• Required to have 25 years of experience working in public education. Preference is given to nominees who have the most years of experience serving in public charter schools and KCPS district schools.
• Years experience can be non-consecutive and in different positions.
• Required to demonstrate impact throughout their career.
• If awarded, only one award is given in this category.

Team grants, previously referred to as Star Team Awards, are given to teams that have worked collaboratively to create strong outcomes for their students or for their school building. Designed to invest in successful programs, these grants will be awarded to school-based teams that provide a clear proposal for how funding will be used to continue the demonstrated success of their work.

• Teams are required to be designated to a specific project or program (for example: a student pantry).
• Teams are required to demonstrate the success and outcomes of their program to date.
• Teams are required to complete a written application of how the award money will be used and how it will impact students at their school.
• Team grants will be awarded at the school location, not as part of the individual award ceremony.
• Team grant applications are required to be submitted by the building leader on behalf of the team.

General:

• Required to be currently working in a public school within KCPES (Kansas City Public Education System) within the boundaries of the Kansas City Public School District. This includes both KCPS district and Public Charter Schools.
• Required to be intending to return to public education within KCPES (Kansas City Public Education System) for the 2025/6 school year
  • Note: employment verification for the 2025/6 school year will be requested of all finalists to be eligible to win or receive an award in any category via HR confirmation, or contract documentation.
• Nominees can start employment at another eligible school at the beginning of the 2025/6 school year and remain eligible to receive an award providing they completed their contractual obligations to their prior school. If a nominee is changing employment, they will be cited under their prior school in all Excellence in Education awards materials, including their award and certificate in the event they are named a winner.
• Nominees cannot be named a winner in a category they have won within the previous five years. However, nominees can win in another category within the five-year time frame providing they meet the criteria for the award.

Application Process Requirements:

• Nominees will be required to use the Smarter Select portal to submit their application. Nominated individuals will receive email communication on how to access the portal and create their account. All required materials are to be submitted through the Smarter Select portal.
• Applicants will be required to provide their school leader information. School leaders will be contacted to verify candidacy and provide supporting information for the application. Failure to provide accurate information, or failure for a school leader to respond to the request, will result in the application being considered incomplete.
• Applications will be subject to a minimum of a double-blind review, with review committees not able to access identifying information about the applicant. 
• Direct reach out to review committee members or other partner organizations to advocate for a specific candidate or attempt to reveal identifying information will result in the disqualification of that candidate.

Ineligibility criteria:

Applicants will be considered ineligible for award at any point along the review, selection, or award process if the following criteria are met:

• Applicant does not fully complete the application by the application deadline of March 10th
• Applicant does not receive a letter of recommendation from their school leader or direct supervisor (for school leaders) as part of their application.
• If applicant completes the 2024/5 school year, but leaves the education profession OR leaves to work at a non-public school or a public school outside of the KCPS district boundaries prior to the start of the 2025/6 school year. Applicant can still be recognized as a finalist but will not be eligible to win award money or be named an award winner.
• If applicant leaves their current position for any reason without completing their contracted obligations for the 2024/5 school year they will be ineligible to be named a winner or finalist for the awards, and will be ineligible to attend the award ceremony as a nominee (they may still attend as a guest of another finalist). In the event that the applicant has already been named as a finalist, they will be removed from the finalist list and event program.
• Failure to provide proof of employment (HR Confirmation or signed contract) at a public school within the boundaries of the KCPS district when requested will result in applicant being ineligible to proceed in the process.
• In the rare cases where a winner intended to return to their position but is not able to owing to school changes beyond their control, SchoolSmartKC reserves the right to make exceptions to the continuing employment criteria on a case-by-case basis.

Payment criteria and requirements:

• Recipients of any funds will be responsible for paying all taxes as deemed necessary by the IRS.
• For individual award winners funds will be paid directly through an ACH payment. Award winners will need to complete tax and ACH forms to receive these funds.
• For team grant awards, funds will be made payable to the school and the school or district will handle the disbursement of these monies according to their own internal procedures.

Public, Media, and Event Recognition and Requirements:

• Applicants agree to the use of their name, title, employer, and image in promotion around the event, including media releases, social media and digital graphics, and in person at the event in August.
• Applicants agree to be filmed for videos shown at the event. These videos are not a part of the review process and do not impact or affect winner selection in any way.
• Applicants may be asked to conduct media interviews and are not obligated to do so – media interviews are not a part of the review process and do not impact or affect winner selection in any way.
• Individual award finalists will be invited to an award ceremony in August at the Kauffman stadium. Finalists are strongly encouraged to attend, but attendance is not mandatory and is not a requirement to win an award. 
• Public recognition for other parties associated with the Excellence in Education Award Program, including Team Grant Recipients, may be conducted at other times, and may not be included as part of the individual award ceremony in August.

Reservation of Rights:

• SchoolSmartKC reserves the right of final decision in all awards, up to and including final payment of award monies. 
• Reviews provided by selection committees are subject to verification processes that may result in candidates being deemed ineligible at any stage of the review process.
• By submitting their application, applicants understand that all decisions made are final.

Anti-Discrimination and Equity Statement

SchoolSmartKC is committed to conducting all aspects of its awards program in full compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. SchoolSmartKC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law. All award-related processes, including nominations, reviews, selections, and distributions, will be carried out impartially and equitably in accordance with these principles.